tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77325410285556416832024-03-05T22:20:28.365-08:00Jules's view of our work in Africa through the Uniterra ProgramVarious comments, rants and geeky tidbits relating to our work in AfricaJules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-3902868756043447052013-08-10T14:22:00.000-07:002013-08-10T14:22:18.816-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well I am sad to have left good friends and interesting experiences in Ghana but Janna and I have been enjoying our return to Canada and our re-connection with friends and family. We had a surprise welcome at the airport from our daughter Regan (who had told us she couldn't be there) who came up with my mother in law Lisa. Wonderful to see them and the great signs that Regan made. :)<br />
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-1646409806323358692013-06-18T08:55:00.003-07:002013-06-18T08:55:58.824-07:00Are there different ways the non-profit sector could or should work?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This TEDx talk from Dan Pallotta has been garnering some interesting discussion and soul searching amongst those in the non-profit sector. Worth a watch, you may disagree but there is a lot of food for thought.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html">http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html</a></div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-62415696088568855332013-06-18T08:38:00.000-07:002013-06-18T08:38:03.292-07:00One Hundred Percent American<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Following on my discussion of globalization and development in my last post I thought I would post this entertaining article written back in 1937 detailing even then how connected we are as a globe. If one looks at federalist countries like Canada and the US we see examples of what were once separate political entities working together in a way that works. Maybe globalization can be done in a similar way, where development is the focus, and the elimination of inequity.</div>
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Enjoy the article</div>
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<b><i>One Hundred Percent American</i></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>by noted anthropologist Ralph Linton</b><br />
<b><i>The American Century</i> vol. 40, 1937</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>There can be no question about the average American's
Americanism or his desire to preserve this precious heritage at all costs.
Nevertheless, some insidious foreign ideas have already wormed their way into
his civilization without his realizing what was going on. Thus, dawn finds the
unsuspecting patriot garbed in pajamas, a garment of East Indian origin; and
lying in a bed built on a pattern which originated in either <st1:country-region w:st="on">Persia</st1:country-region> or <st1:place w:st="on">Asia Minor</st1:place>.
He is muffled to the ears in un-American materials: cotton, first domesticated
in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>; linen,
domesticated in the Middle East; wool from an animal native to <st1:place w:st="on">Asia Minor</st1:place>; or silk whose uses were first discovered by
the Chinese.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>On awakening he glances at the clock, a medieval European
invention, rises in haste, and goes to the bathroom. Here, if he stops to think
about it, he must feel himself in the presence of a great American institution;
he will have heard stories of both the quality and frequency of foreign
plumbing and will know that in no other country does the average man or woman
perform their ablutions in the midst of such splendor. But the insidious
foreign influences pursue him even here. Glass was invented by the ancient
Egyptians, the use of glazed tiles for floors and walls in the Middle East,
porcelain in China, and the art of enameling on metal by Mediterranean artisans
of the Bronze Age. Even his bathtub and toilet are but slightly modified copies
of Roman originals. The only purely American contribution to the ensemble is
the steam radiator, against which our patriot very briefly and unintentionally
places his posterior.</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Returning to the bedroom, the unconscious victim of
un-American practices removes his clothes from a chair, invented in the <st1:place w:st="on">Near East</st1:place>, and proceeds to dress. He puts on
close-fitting tailored garments whose form derives from the skin clothing of
the ancient nomads of the Asiatic steppes and fastens them with buttons whose
prototypes appeared in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> at the close of
the Stone Age. He puts on his feet stiff coverings made from hide prepared by a
process invented in ancient Egypt and cut to a pattern which can be traced back
to ancient Greece and makes sure they are properly polished, also a Greek idea.
Lastly, he ties about his neck a strip of bright-colored cloth, which is a
vestigial survival of the shoulder shawls worn by seventeenth-century Croats.
He gives himself a final appraisal in the mirror, an old Mediterranean
invention and goes downstairs to breakfast.</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Here a whole new series of foreign things confront him.
His food and drink are placed before him in pottery vessels, the popular name
of which - china - is sufficient evidence of their origin. His fork is a
medieval Italian invention and his spoon a copy of a Roman original. He will
usually begin his meal with coffee, an Abyssinian plant first discovered by
Arabs. The American is quite likely to need it to dispel the morning after
affects of over-indulgence in fermented drinks, invented in the Near East; or
distilled ones, invented by the alchemists of medieval Europe.</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>If our patriot is old-fashioned enough to adhere to the
so-called American breakfast, his coffee will be accompanied by an orange, or
orange juice, domesticated in the Mediterranean region, a cantaloupe
domesticated in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Persia</st1:country-region>, or
grapes domesticated in <st1:place w:st="on">Asia Minor</st1:place>. From this
he will go on to waffles, a Scandinavian invention, with plenty of butter,
originally a Near-Eastern cosmetic.</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Breakfast over, he sprints for his train - the train, not
the sprinting, being an English invention. At the station, he pauses for a
moment to buy a newspaper, paying for it with coins invented in ancient <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lydia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Once on
the train he settles back to inhale the fumes of a cigarette invented in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region>, or a cigar invented in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Meanwhile, he reads the news of the day, imprinted in characters invented by
the ancient Semites by a process invented in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>
upon a material invented in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
As he scans the latest editorial pointing out the dire results to our
institutions of accepting foreign ideas, he will not fail to thank a Hebrew God
in an Indo-European language that he is one hundred percent (decimal system
invented by the Greeks) American (from Americus Vespucci, Italian geographer).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-46883045635646967722013-06-18T08:32:00.002-07:002013-06-18T08:34:22.062-07:00Globalization is Not New, and if We Work at it, Maybe We Can Make a Better World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">‘Globalization’ emerged as an increasingly discussed term in the 1990s. Despite this there continues to be a lack of clarity
over the term. Any look through contemporary media and one will find numerous
references, debates and diatribes for or against “globalization” yet despite
this upon analysis it is a difficult term, and subject to nail down. Even a
mildly diligent search finds a plethora of definitions, often sharing common
elements, but often not. </span>Maureen O’Neill, president of the Canadian
federal government’s International Development Research Centre captures it
succinctly when she says that "globalization is a phenomenon of paradoxes”,
“it is a force of integration – whether in the WTO, or in the protocols of the
internet, or in the worldwide audience for Hollywood movies”, “at the same
time, it divides us: generation from generation, fundamentalists from
modernists, secessionists from centralizers, rich from poor" (CBC, 2006,
11<sup>th</sup> paragraph). What is necessary in order to be able to
discuss the topic at all is too explore the various concepts and ideas. Is
globalization an open ended trend or is it only a set of narrow economic and
political activities? Is there a systemic character to it is it just a
collection of diverse but separate items? These are the questions that will be
explored in this blog.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A
definition one finds from the Canadian government and used by Canadian media
states that globalization "describes the increased mobility of goods,
services, labour, technology and capital throughout the world"(CBC, 2006,
2<sup>nd</sup> paragraph). Institutions of global governance such as the United
Nations and the World Trade Organization define it as follows, “globalization is
generally used to describe an increasing internationalization of markets for
goods and services, the means of production, financial systems, competition,
corporations, technology and industries. Amongst other things this gives rise
to increased mobility of capital, faster propagation of technological
innovations and an increasing interdependency and uniformity of national
markets” (Eurostat, IMF, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, WTO, 2002, Annex II, Glossary).
While these are workable definitions they only capture globalization through an
economic lens, while there are many other sides that can be looked at, often
depending on your academic discipline, philosophical worldview or political
ideology.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In order for us to move forward on our
exploration of globalization it is necessary to define what it is that we will
be exploring. I contend that the economic focused definitions above are too
narrow to capture the depth and breadth of the topic at hand and instead
propose to work with Pieterse’s definition, “globalization is an objective,
empirical process of increasing economic and political connectivity, a
subjective process unfolding in consciousness as the collective awareness of
growing global interconnectedness, and a host of specific globalizing projects
that seek to shape global conditions” (Pieterse, 2009, p.16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A key argument from globalization sceptics is that there is
nothing unprecedented going on today compared to the past, whether it be
Victorian era capital flows, or global trade routes. In the Middle Ages the
famous Silk Road joined Europe to China, and all points between as can be scene
on the Silk Road trade route map on the cover page. Later the European colonial
empires created international good, capital and cultural flows so what is it
that is different today? Two main elements are behind the difference that is
seen today, one is the near global institution of similar free-market policies,
and the other is the impact of technology on shrinking geography and time.
Thomas Friedman contrasts this new globalization from what has occurred in the
past by saying that today’s changes go "farther, faster, cheaper and
deeper" (CBC, 2006, 14<sup>th</sup> paragraph).</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iYN-q4ylUwiWj_dAprOfTjvN0Ob7jxQdQHfQngOgyDBEFUHxcKpNoPrQyitjrqCJV_Sfn8y6R_bU1EF5fOAga7u7b38NIkPHH7HGYQOqpsw3hCQEy4kv5lTDYwgb8tUpY14sEhWGBja8/s1600/Silk+Road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iYN-q4ylUwiWj_dAprOfTjvN0Ob7jxQdQHfQngOgyDBEFUHxcKpNoPrQyitjrqCJV_Sfn8y6R_bU1EF5fOAga7u7b38NIkPHH7HGYQOqpsw3hCQEy4kv5lTDYwgb8tUpY14sEhWGBja8/s640/Silk+Road.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (Silk Road Project, 2012).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For many economists, political scientists,
and sociologists it is a process that has been occurring for about the last
thirty years, while other disciplines, such as historians and anthropologists
see a much longer trajectory (Pieterse, 2009, pp.15-16). The historians and
anthropologists are correct that many of the elements of globalization such as
international trade, migration, and cultural spread have a long pedigree. Homo
erectus after arising in Africa spread throughout Eurasia as long ago as 1.8 <u>million</u>
years ago, this was followed in more recent pre-historical and historical times
by modern Homo sapiens population movements across and between continents.
Global trade is also not new, having occurred for over a millennia all while
religion, empires, and technologies have spread from one continent to another (Pieterse,
2009, p.26). This proves that the process of human (and pre-human) integration
is an ancient one whether one calls this globalization or not. Robert Clark
calls this a global imperative; at least since the days of Homo erectus and
that “the essence of the human condition is a fundamental connectedness with
parts of the universe across time and space” (Pieterse, 2009, p.27).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This view is much deeper than the
Euro-centric view that sees human unification as product of modernity and
globalization as an post World War II economic project. In many ways these
ideas aren’t new to us, prophets, leaders and writers have conceived of utopias
of human unity from the Book of Daniel in the Jewish Tanakh, Fiore’s third age,
to Alexander the Great’s encompassing empire (Pieterse, 2009, pp.27-28). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This
deep historical perspective is important as it places the changes occurring in
a context that is part of, is an extension of human culture. Globalization is
not something new, but it is part of a continuum that reaches back into the
distant past. Yet being on a continuum does not mean that the slope of the line
is constant. What we do see is that there is a difference with regard to the
speed of the current change and the depth of the integration.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having accepted
that globalization exists, and is different than earlier phases does not mean
though, that all who look at the problem sees it with one lens. While it is not
possible to define and understand the current phase of the world in “non-global
ways there are different ways to conceive of the changes. How one sees
globalization depends on ones methodological approach. Globalization has become
the “prism” where disputes are refracted. Questions of development, hegemony,
capitalism, politics, inequality, and many others are bent towards the approach
one brings to the debate (Pieterse, 2009, p.7). This same refraction holds true
depending on the political view one brings to the puzzle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Those firmly
entrenched in the capitalist camp, neo-liberals, and those associated with the
third way and the post-Washington consensus see globalization as a win-win. The basic premise is that if only governments
would adopt the correct policies then each country would exercise their
comparative advantage, maximize their potential and every nation state would
win all while global output is increased (Kiely, 2007, p.13). </span>Others hold an
opposite view of the potential for globalization, seeing it not as a win-win
but rather as a zero-sum game (CBC, 2006, 6<sup>th</sup>-7<sup>th</sup>
paragraph).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Unlike
those for globalization who tend to be a variety of capitalist, there are a
variety of positions opposed to globalization from schools of thought including
neo-Marxism, anarchism, feminism etc. all with broad variations in their
analysis. What is common is the view that globalization is a largely malign
force presaging a return </span>to imperialism. Based on neo-Marxist
theories including underdevelopment, dependency and the world system they argue
that at its heart globalization is a system set up by the powerful, to reward
the powerful, where the growth in one area can only occur through the
impoverishment of another (Kiely, 2007, pp.16-17).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">There
is a deeper and better-theorized space that can be found between these two
strongly divergent positions though. That is the idea of globalization as a
force of development, but as practiced an uneven development. This position
argues that neither of wildly divergent positions above are well theorized, and
it recognizes that there is some truth in both schools of thought. Importantly
this view retains the questioning of hegemony, power and imperialism. The
uneven development position accepts that there is a dynamism to capitalism but
that this is an uneven </span>dynamism that can have pockets of winners
and pockets of losers but it rejects out of hand that what is occurring is a
zero-sum game. What it is also key though is that it rejects that any such
unevenness is a result solely of market imperfections (read government) but
that these imperfections are a very factor of the capitalist system itself (Kiely,
2007, p.18).</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, despite the range of views, theories,
political and academic lenses that can be brought to bear on the question of
what is globalization? there are some conclusions that can now be safely made.
First and foremost is that globalization is not solely a win-win or a zero-sum
game but rather is a more complex system/process that leads to dynamic, yet
uneven growth. This uneven growth is not due to market failures but to rules
inherent in the neo-liberal system itself. Also important to remember is that
while important globalization is about more than economics, but rather it is
the latest, albeit accelerated phase of a process that reaches back 2 million
years. Key is that what this is really about is the spread, mixing and
ultimately the hybridization of culture, whether it is technology, economics,
politics, pop culture or philosophy/religion.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It remains to be seen whether there are
ways to smooth out the unevenness of current globalization in order to create a
more equitable, less hegemonic world. If that is what we want, then there is a good chance that together we can make that happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">References<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CBC News. 2006. What is globalization?
March 30, 2006. CBC News Online. Accessed November 12, 2012. <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/summitofamericas/globalization.html">http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/summitofamericas/globalization.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eurostat, IMF, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, and WTO.
2002. Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services. United Nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kiely, Ray. 2007. The New Political Economy
of Development: Globalization, Imperialism, Hegemony. Palgrave MacMillan. Great
Britain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Levin Institute. 2012. What is
Globalization? State University of New York. Accessed November 24, 2012. <a href="http://www.globalization101.org/what-is-globalization/">http://www.globalization101.org/what-is-globalization/</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pieterse, Jan Nederveen. 2009.
Globalization and Culture: Global Melange. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Inc. United States of America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Silk
Road Project. 2012. Silk Road Wall Map. Accessed on November 24, 2012. The Silk
Road Project Inc. <a href="http://www.silkroadproject.org/Portals/0/images/lg_SilkRoadWallMap_color.jpg">http://www.silkroadproject.org/Portals/0/images/lg_SilkRoadWallMap_color.jpg</a></span></span></div>
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-44944534942850174582013-06-12T04:46:00.000-07:002013-06-12T04:46:14.136-07:00Building from the Inside Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Arriving in September 2012 for a 10 month Uniterra II
assignment I was excited to be once again returning to the continent of Africa.
My first WUSC experience was under Uniterra I when I travelled with my wife and
daughter to spend a year in Malawi in south central Africa in 2008 for 13
months. That experience was rewarding and transformative for all of us and my
wife and I vowed that we would return to do further development work in Africa.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once again both my wife and I had secured separate Uniterra
placements, but this time our daughter, now in her third year of university did
not travel with us. Janna and I were excited to each find placements in Accra,
Ghana, Janna found a placement with Child Rights International while my
placement was with the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
GNECC had recently participated in two separate reviews of
their capacity as an organisation and from that they had created a Step Change
Plan in order to build themselves with a focus on long term sustainability. I
was asked if I would be willing to tackle the actions planned for in their step
change plan given my background in project management, and I agreed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first step needed was for me to get up to speed on who
GNECC is, and where their strengths and weaknesses lie. GNECC was established
in 1999 and is a network of education stakeholders with over 200 members
including civil society organizations, professional groups, education and
research institutions, and other individuals interested in promoting quality
basic education. Their focus is basic education spanning from nursery to junior
high school, with members countrywide. With over 10 years of research and
advocacy experience, GNECC is a well-recognized and respected voice in the
promotion of education for all in Ghana. Despite their successes though, there
were still areas where GNECC had recognized that they could be strengthened in
order to ensure their positive impact continues into the future. The three main
areas to be tackled were GNECC’s “Vision, Mission and Strategy”, “Program
Delivery and Impact” and “Resource Development” with on support and funding
provided by STAR Ghana.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While there have been many, many activities taken to build
GNECC some of the successes I have been involved in include strengthening the
knowledge management skills of the coalition. This involved a two pronged
approach, first training the staff in the importance of protecting, nurturing
and backing up the knowledge they and the coalition creates. The second
involved creating a cloud based storage system that can back up all the
coalition’s documents and pictures online. This is a free system, and even if
every computer was to be destroyed, GNECC will still be able to retrieve all
its materials from any computer. This will increase GNECC’s effectiveness and
better enable them to tell their success
stories to stakeholders, advocacy targets and current and potential donors.
After presenting this online cloud storage system to our donor and sixteen
other grant partners, such a buzz was created that GNECC will now be the
trainer of trainers for other NGOs on how to set up their own cloud storage
system.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0baUnskoqEu_EfJCwkKkuE6kwX4ZeSKMoztAnYBwMxUjGraGDcHINLD1D9BH28QRTJl177mcC5R7sYN7E6tlzsZgK99Zu5sxgQOFmP8c0f7waZRiOHz0TH3LJokMLYsHV4_OHEU-6Ub5/s1600/GNECC+Orientation+and+Advocacy+Workshop+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0baUnskoqEu_EfJCwkKkuE6kwX4ZeSKMoztAnYBwMxUjGraGDcHINLD1D9BH28QRTJl177mcC5R7sYN7E6tlzsZgK99Zu5sxgQOFmP8c0f7waZRiOHz0TH3LJokMLYsHV4_OHEU-6Ub5/s1600/GNECC+Orientation+and+Advocacy+Workshop+010.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the above picture my colleague Fred Amo Otchere is introducing me at the beginning of our advocacy training.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To improve the coalition’s program delivery and impact I
created a series of advocacy training materials and held a workshop over two
half day sessions, that through interactive and collaborative sessions walked
the participants through how to create their own advocacy plan on the issues
that matter to them. The workshop was a huge success, and the participants left
eager to use their new skills towards their own advocacy issues.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lastly, in order to improve the financial resources of the
coalition and to reduce dependence on donor funding I worked to bolster the
collection of membership fees. These actions were in some ways simple, but from
simple actions can come great results. The first step was to create an online
registration system so that we could get an accurate database of who and how
many members we had. From there we sold them on the value our members have
enjoyed in being members of GNECC, (the carrot) with a reminder that under the
Constitution that they created, without due payment, one cannot be a member
(the stick). It is important for the coalition to broaden beyond donor funds,
especially to pay for internal governance activities and to support goals and
activities that matter to the membership and to become truly sustainable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My experience with GNECC has been rich and rewarding. Being
a volunteer cooperant is not without its challenges and frustrations, but with
flexibility, a good attitude and perseverance real development work can be
done. While I am returning to Canada, I will continue to promote the program
from there, and who knows, maybe I will be back for Uniterra III.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-64179129919061496232013-06-11T04:29:00.003-07:002013-06-11T04:29:47.586-07:00The Better Life Index<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has developed a really interesting data visualization tool that allows you to rate by importance 11 factors that are often considered important to a person's quality of life. By playing with the different factors you can see how your values rate to the values measured in other countries in the OECD (which is restricted to developed countries). The OECD has embarked on an interesting attempt to come up with other measures beyond the classic economic ones such as GDP in order to inform better policy decisions that actually capture what matters most to people. Try the index out, it is simple and a great way to show data in a visual way.<br />
<br />
BETTER LIFE INITIATIVE<br />
The OECD Better Life Initiative allows a better understanding of what drives the well-being of people<br />
and nations and what needs to be done to achieve greater progress for all. Drawing upon the<br />
recommendations of the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social<br />
Progress (to which the OECD has been an important contributor), the OECD has identified 11<br />
dimensions as being essential to well-being, from health and education to local environment, personal<br />
security and overall satisfaction with life, as well as more traditional measures such as income. These 11<br />
dimensions are explored and analysed in detail in the How’s Life report, the first attempt at an<br />
international level to present the best set of comparable and comprehensive well-being indicators.<br />
At the same time, the OECD has created the “Your Better Life Index” to support policy making to<br />
improve the quality of life.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/">http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org</a></div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-59742213317303008972013-06-10T09:20:00.000-07:002013-06-10T09:20:56.445-07:00Factories Inspectorate Division in Danger<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For my Ministry of Labour colleagues in Occupational Health and Safety inspection I thought I would share a story showing the deplorable state of Ghana's health and safety inspectorate. They have had continual budgetary challenges and they haven't had fuel or maintenance for their vehicles for years. Below is a story detailing their challenges, note that in the story it mentions Ghanaian money named cedis, 2 cedis is worth about $1 Canadian.<br />
<br />
<h1 style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 2.461em; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px !important; line-height: 34px !important; margin: 0px 5px 15px 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-shadow: none;">
Factories Inspectorate Division in danger</h1>
<h1 style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 2.461em; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px !important; line-height: 34px !important; margin: 0px 5px 15px 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-shadow: none;">
<span class="author" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>By </b>Ghana |Economic Tribune</span></h1>
<div>
<span class="author" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 16px;">26 November 2012</span></span></div>
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<span class="author" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #505050; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="author" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal;"><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
One of the main challenges bedeviling the smooth operations of the country's Factories Inspectorate Division (FID) has to do with poor government funding.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
The FID, mandated to inspect factories, shops and offices with the aim of safeguarding the health, welfare and safety of persons employed within or around the premises and issue licenses for the operation of business in such premises, often compromises its duty due to a lack of adequate funding, leading to disasters such as the collapsed Melcom shopping mall.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
Economic Tribune's investigations revealed that budgetary allocations for the FID for 2012 were a mere GHC1, 700, even though user fees paid by applicants to the department exceeded GHC12, 000.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
Compounding the challenge of inadequate funding, it was not until July that funds from government, in the budgetary allocation for the year, were released thereby hampering the timely issuance of certificates for approved applications.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
'We often use our own money for our inspection rounds and have to wait for long periods to be reimbursed because our budgetary allocations do not arrive early,' an officer disclosed to Economic Tribune, who asked not to be named because she does not speak for her organisation.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
Some businesses operating in Accra disclosed that their application for the Factories, Shops and Offices Certificate often took months to obtain. A certificate is valid for a year and expires on December 31, 2012 each year notwithstanding when it was issued or renewed.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
Ideally, it takes about 14 working days for the entire process of application to issuance of the certificate to be completed; however, this is subject to how soon queries and recommendations raised by the directorate are dealt with by the applicant. A certificate is required before a business commences, however, if business has already commenced, an applicant may still make an application for a certificate.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
The application process itself is not complicated. The application form costs GHC 5.00 and processing fee is GHC 150.00 and an applicant has to complete the form, which can be obtained from the Regional office of the Factories, Offices and Shops Inspectorate and submit same with a building or structural plan of the premises which are then reviewed by the inspectorate.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
When an application is made under a situation where the business had already commenced, the inspectorate inspects the property and if necessary makes recommendations for structural changes before business can continue.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
When all necessary recommendations have been made the application is then forwarded to the head office for a certificate to be issued.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
The Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF), earlier this year, with support from Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Funds commissioned a study into cross-sectoral licensing and permits requirements as an advocacy action to help regulators become more efficient and proactive in the delivery of their services to business operators, so as to remove the negative impact on the operations of the business community.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
The study identified a number of challenges and lapses including the fact that the FID has no online application system thus making its procedure cumbersome.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
It also has inadequate offices across the country to undertake timely inspections at the local levels, which is compounded by inadequate personnel to conduct inspection of applicant's premises</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
There was also periodic loss of documentations due to improper record keeping, as well as, limited contacts between the inspectorate and other agencies, and virtually no public education or awareness creation.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
The PEF study recommended that, importantly, the department should be allowed to keep a percentage of the user fees paid by applicants to enhance internal operations in order to provide better and expedited services to the business community but not pay 100 percent of the user fees into the consolidated fund. Secondly, review of fees should be done in consultation with stakeholders.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
It also recommended a general use of technology to speed up service delivery and creation of a one stop shop portal; precisely, online application or e-application platform, the creation of data base for research and analysis, and the need for an electronic notification system of application status.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
There also should be the creation of more offices in the regions and districts to conduct inspections at the local level, while the Agency must adopt a Career development programme to attract young professionals.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px !important; margin-bottom: 18px !important; text-rendering: auto !important;">
The PEF study also noted that the FID needs to embark on numerous public education, publicity, and training of applicants on the various application procedures so as to eliminate confusions and other reasons for compromising on adherence to safety standards, thereby exposing workers and other users of the premises to avoidable dangers.</div>
</span></div>
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-63538570574604803782013-06-07T04:47:00.001-07:002013-06-07T04:47:07.272-07:00Video of Courageous Ghanaian Journalist Who is Working to Expose Corruption and Crime
Having directly experienced corruption myself here in Ghana, and understanding the strides that Ghanaians are making to try to stamp out corruption I want to share a recent TEDx talk that discusses an enterprising Ghanaian journalist who has been leading the fight against corruption and crime.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Working in Ghana and across the African continent, Anas
Aremeyaw Anas is an undercover journalist and private eye. In disguise, he
finds his way into asylums, brothels and villages, where he methodically
gathers evidence for hard-hitting stories -- then presents the evidence to
authorities to see criminals prosecuted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">His work on human trafficking won him the US State
Department Hero Award in 2008. In President Barack Obama's 2009 policy address
in Ghana, he singled out Anas and commended him as "a courageous
journalist who risked his life to report the truth.” His investigation in “Mad
House” of a Ghanaian psychiatric ward led to a widespread awareness of mental
health issues in Ghana and the passage of the 2012 Ghana Mental Health Act. His
exposé of a trafficking ring in “Chinese Sex Mafia” led to three human
traffickers receiving a 41-year jail sentence, while "Spell of the
Albino," produced as part of Al-Jazeera's Africa Investigates series, led
to widespread awareness of a sinister trade in body parts. “Enemies of the Nation,”
which uncovered corruption at Ghana’s Tema Harbor, led to the recovery of $200
million in state funds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">"People ... need to see stories like this which show
African people who will not condone corruption and injustice." </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Julia Wangombe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/anas_aremeyaw_anas_how_i_named_shamed_and_jailed.html?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=image__2013-06-05">http://www.ted.com/talks/anas_aremeyaw_anas_how_i_named_shamed_and_jailed.html?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=image__2013-06-05</a><br />
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-12172026410639779832013-05-28T03:54:00.000-07:002013-05-28T03:55:17.610-07:00Pitfalls To Be Avoided in Non-Profit Sector ManagementThis list of advice for those working in or leading non-profits does not obviously apply to all non-profits but there are some real items that deserve consideration. This list was shared with me by a Malawian colleague during my year in Malawi in 2008-2009. It was developed by a South African consultant. No insult is meant to non-profit work, which I believe in wholeheartedly, it is just important to remember that there can be pitfalls and mistakes in this sector just as there can be in the public and private sectors as well.<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">TWENTY
THREE (23) INEXCUSABLE SINS FOR NGO MANAGMENT!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">By Frank Julie <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">NO CLEAR
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No
comprehensive sustainability strategy is in place to ensure the organization is
able to reproduce itself and achieve its vision. Remember, the final test for any
organization is for it to continue without you. And to continue without you it
requires access to resources. Remember, sustainability does not only mean
having enough funding. It is much more than that. It starts with the
intangibles like vision, mission, strategies and values. And then it is
important to have a plan to recruit new donors, maintaining existing ones and
get them to give more, limit core expenses by developing cost containment
strategies, maximize the contribution by staff, volunteers and the board and
strengthen partnerships with NGO’s in your sector. Remember, you cannot sustain
your organization by default. You must do it by design! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">NO
SUCCESION PLANNING<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No
succession planning is in place. We never think of succession until it is too
late. No person is fallible and we cannot control what will happen to anyone at
any time. This is why a succession plan is vital. And if you don’t have the
skills inside the organization, then go and look outside. But have a plan in
place. You can either force staff members to take up a position or you can
prepare them for it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">NO RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN PLACE</span></b></st1:address></st1:street><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No risk
management strategy is in place to protect the organization against the
potential loss of property, accidents, funding gaps, staff retention, etc. We usually
wait for the crisis to first hit us before we think of putting a risk
management strategy in place. Well, will you commit resources to an
organization where nobody is aware of the risks involved in operating the
organization? Surely not? Then why do you expect donors to do it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE BOARD
IS REGARDED AS A NECESSARY EVIL<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is no
proper investment in board members. No inductions take place. There is no
proper recruitment strategy. Many organizations don’t even have a board
development budget! The board is seen as rubber stamp. It is what donors
require. As soon as board members start to ask difficult questions then they
become a liability. Then they are set up against the staff and critical
information is kept away from them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">STAFF IS BUSY
BEING BUSY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In most
organizations everybody is so busy being busy! There is either too little time
or no time for proper planning and quality reflection to extract valuable lessons
and learnings from the field. Staff members work for 8 hours a day or more on
structured work and leave no time for responsive work. Then they must take work
home. The result is continuous burn out and stress! Staff members come to work
with no work plan, no clear objectives related to the strategic focus of the
organization and no clear outcomes to be achieved. The result is duplication of
work, confusion, chaos and tension reflected in personality conflicts. Then
people get in each other’s way! Instead
of proper communication the noise levels start to increase! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">NO CLEAR
OBJECTIVES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Some
organizations either have no proper objectives or when they have it is too
many. And sometimes the objectives are confused with aims. Remember, an aim is
a general statement of intent or an ideal. It is something you wish for. An
objective is a specific and measurable activity that you engage in to achieve
this ideal. It is the rung on the ladder. The aim always comes first. Unless
the objective is clear then your specific course of action will also be
unclear. Because the way you act is the way you think! Or to put it
differently, the way you attack a problem is the way you conceptualize it. This
is why one can find staff members come after 6 months or more to report work
left undone! They are paralyzed in their thinking and therefore paralyzed in
their actions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">CONDONE
POOR STAFF PERFORMANCE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Most
leaders are not able to get rid of poor performing staff. Now this is a very
serious challenge within many NGO’s. There is a good reason for this. NGO’s are
value based organizations where we work to help people change lives and so we
are very reluctant to let people go when they don’t perform. We feel sorry for
people. Past attachments also influence these decisions. In fact, we will
tolerate poor performing staff and sometimes it will go on and on. But letting
the person go is not an always an option. We may even redeploy the person, change
the job description which is a code word for trying to ignore the problem. This
is dangerous. Condoning the incompetence of one person condemns the whole
organization to mediocrity. It becomes a cancer that will eat away at the whole
organization. Any person who is incompetent and cannot deliver according to
predetermined expectations should be immediately removed for the sake of the
organization and the person her/himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">NO PROPER
POLICIES <st1:address w:st="on">IN PLACE OR</st1:address> NO IMPLEMENTATION<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There are
no proper policies in place. And where policies exist they are not implemented
or implemented properly according to a procedure. In the absence of policies it
is a free for all. Leaders do as they want. Where policies exist they are
manipulated to suit small elite within the organization. Every decision taken
becomes ad-hoc or just to suit the moment. There is no consistency. It is in
this climate that nepotism or favouratism will rear its ugly head! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">9.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">NO PROPER
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is no
proper financial management from the strategic plan and its strategic
objectives to the annual financial plan, quarterly financial plan, monthly
budget plan to the daily cash flow analysis. Forget about being transparent
about these plans if they exist. Usually a small clique will control all
information related to finances. We swear to transparency but well, when it
comes to finances it goes a bit too far! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">10.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">REACTIVE
APPROACH TO FUNDING GAPS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is a
reactive approach to funding gaps. There is no proactive response. Funding gaps
is a reality for all NGO’s. We cannot control donor agendas and processes. We
will always be vulnerable to funding gaps. But we can control our response to
it. Start a reserve or sustainability fund. And don’t wait for the next funding
crisis. Start today if you haven’t acted already. Remember, if you cannot pay
salaries then you must blame yourself, not the funder! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">11.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">TOLERATING
IRRELEVANT PROJECTS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is
no organised abandonment of projects that don’t work and don’t produce results.
There is no creative destruction. Some staff members become sentimentally
attached to pet projects. Sometimes we are afraid to state the obvious – that a
project is not working and not producing results. We are afraid of offending
others so we keep on pumping funding into projects that only disappoint. We
invest scarce resources into the past! And this is not all. We will even start
new projects that will consume more and more limited resources on top of the
ones that don’t work. Sometimes these projects are funded driven and
not even driven by need. The worst case scenario is that these new projects are
not even funded at all drawing resources away from other projects threatening
the performance of the projects that work and produce results. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">12.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> FEAR FOR EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">How many
organizations are open to external evaluations? How many are prepared to put
themselves on trial? We always find excuses to open ourselves up for scrutiny.
We only want to hear what we want to hear. In the process we perpetuate internal
deformities by not only allowing external evaluations. There is always not
enough funding to do this, forget about requesting others to give us an opinion
about our development practices. We fear the critical voice always becoming
defensive and not open to critique. Remember, development is about being open
and not closed! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">13.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> OVERUSE OF CONSULTANTS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The new
trend amongst the well funded NGO’s is to call in a consultant for every little
problem. Sometimes this degenerates into only jobs for pals and it fails to
develop internal capacity in the organization and the hence the ability to deal
with its own challenges in future. Sometimes it is just sheer laziness amongst some
leaders. Remember, the solution to any problem lies inside the organization and
not with consultants. The role of the consultant is to bring this awareness to
the client and to create an environment conducive for solutions to emerge collectively
and not imposed arbitrarily by so-called experts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">14.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> NO OR LITTLE SHARING OF INFORMATION<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is
no regular sharing of financial information and knowing how much the other
person is earning is sacrilege! This is a typical corporate practice. Why
should you be ashamed of what you earn if you know you deserve it? Why should
it be a secret what you work for? You can only be ashamed if you know you don’t
deserve what you are earning; if you know you are underperforming. Sometimes
staff will not even know who their donors are and how much they are funding.
Once again a small clique will monopolize this information, creating the space
for corruption and mismanagement of funds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">15.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> NO COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">You cannot
create continuous interest in your organization without a clearly formulated
communication and marketing strategy. I must still find a NGO who can convince
me that they have one and more importantly, that it is implemented. Trapped in
survival mode, many NGO’s forget to raise visibility about their work in the
form of newsletters (print and electronic), websites, blogspots, articles in
newspapers, brochures, pamphlets, letters, faxes, block e-mails, etc. So
trapped in survival mode, they forget their work is about changing human lives
and that they need to celebrate their successes. And don’t hide your
challenges! Let others know about it! And tell them what you are doing about
it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">16.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> STAFF DEVELOPMENT REGARDED AS A LUXURY <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Staff
development is considered a luxury instead of a necessity. And where there is
staff development it is usually not focused and planned. Some staff members are sent to workshops just
to fill up places. And the aim is only for the staff member to perform better
in her/his work, i.e. it is only task focus and not also person focused.
Remember, you employ a whole human being not just half a human being! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">17.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> IMAGE NOT CONGRUENT WITH TRUE IDENTITY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The image (what
you stand for in public) and true identity (what you actually do in practice) of
the organization are not the same. What we write in our proposals, brochures,
reports, not the same as what actually happens in reality. They preach
accountability but provide each other with secret loans, salary increases,
distorting reports, etc to secure the next funding tranche. And then they get
the auditors to hide this. Some preach gender equality only to make life
difficult for females in the organization. Remember, the proper balance between
image and true identity leads to organizational integrity! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">18.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> PROBLEM FOCUSED APPROACH<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Many NGO’s
have a problem focused approach in their work. They do not celebrate successes
enough. They like to flog themselves unnecessarily. When donors commit funding
to projects, nobody celebrates. It is seen as just another donor! So what? The
same thing happens when we hear success of stories of beneficiary, .g. a person
who is healed, reintegrated into a family and community, someone starting a
successful business or accessing sustainable employment, or a policy change
effected after pressure by the organizations, etc. Instead we are looking for
the next problem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">19.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> NO LEARNING ORGANISATION<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We pay lip
service to a learning organization. It is more rhetoric than substance. Instead
of seeing the learning organization as a means to an end it is approached more
as an end in itself like some renowned American academics do. Learning is
viewed as a neutral construct and not a process influenced by power relations.
The learning organization is not viewed in the context of a world of
globalization, etc. and as a tool to end social and economic relations based on
inequality and injustice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">20.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> TOO MANY MEETINGS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Now here
is a common illness. Too many meetings leading to analysis paralysis, i.e. we
analyze so much that we become paralyzed. More time is spent inside instead of outside
the organization where the need and opportunities are. Remember, sometimes you may not only have too
many meetings but you may sit with the wrong people attending meetings. The
first question to ask when organizing a meeting is not who should attend but
who should NOT attend! Remember, you cannot work and meet at the same time! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">21.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> NO SOCIAL ACCOUNTING<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Financial
accounting may be fine. But this is not enough. You need to account socially as
well. This is about accountability to the vision and mission of the
organization. That means keeping all relevant stakeholders informed about both
your challenges and successes. It is your duty to do this. Failure to do this
will slowly but surely cause your organization to become irrelevant and
degenerate into job creation for a few individuals. Whilst funding last of
course! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">22.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> NO TRACKING OF BENEFICIARIES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is no
tracking of beneficiaries to check the impact of their work. If you want to
establish the impact of your work then they are the best people to tell you
what worked and what did not work. But we forget about them due to crisis
management and losing focus on the real reason why we exist. For e.g. it is
rare to find education centres who track children when they reach primary or
high school or youth development centers who track youth accessing employment,
etc. We simply don’t care. It is too much of a cost! It takes too much time! And
we are always busy being busy…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">23.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> SECRECY AND NEPOTISM IN THE SECTOR<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is no
sharing or little sharing of information and other resources within the sector
itself. Most of the time we are governed by a scarcity mentality, i.e. that
there is always not enough for everyone! We fall into the mindless corporate
trap of competing with each other instead of cooperating. And even where forums
or networks exist to promote sharing of resources, these will descend into private
clubs to keep others out and not bring new ones in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Please
note: This list is far from exhausted. So feel free to add other sins. We can
only learn what to do and do it right if we know what not to do and what is
simply just wrong and unacceptable! <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Remember, the task
of a true leader is to create more leaders not followers!” (John Maxwell) <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“A manager is paid to
be uncomfortable. If you are comfortable then it is a sure sign that you are doing
something wrong.” (Peter Drucker) <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Written by: Frank
Julie, independent development consultant and author of “The Art of Leadership
and Management on the Ground” (A practical guide for leaders and managers to
develop sustainable organizations for permanent social change)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">To
read more about the book, view its detailed contents and comments from
community leaders and academics around the world, please go to HYPERLINK
"http://www.frankjulieblogspot.com" <span class="MsoHyperlink">www.frankjulieblogspot.com</span>
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">To order the book and
get a free list of donors in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">South
Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region>, please e-mail Zandile Stols (PA) at
HYPERLINK "mailto:frankjulie@telkomsa.net" <span class="MsoHyperlink">frankjulie@telkomsa.net</span> </span></i></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-47819217158444423232013-05-07T05:43:00.003-07:002013-05-07T05:44:08.575-07:00Equality Versus Equity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEAileqoiq21TnAzNunGI-kDXt2n5RDqgu3jn6LIsU-txhIHqEL3YFpuUXI7-59nGTIKRicqWbtoNR4k1n3cIcN0YmFLmi3OX6LkvMo3GZnpG6FWJXQ1YCNu1AFVwD0Ef9D5iNHzmi45o/s1600/Great+Equality+and+Equity+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEAileqoiq21TnAzNunGI-kDXt2n5RDqgu3jn6LIsU-txhIHqEL3YFpuUXI7-59nGTIKRicqWbtoNR4k1n3cIcN0YmFLmi3OX6LkvMo3GZnpG6FWJXQ1YCNu1AFVwD0Ef9D5iNHzmi45o/s1600/Great+Equality+and+Equity+Image.jpg" height="640" width="578" /></a></div>
<br />Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-32778168545390339992013-05-07T05:41:00.002-07:002013-05-07T05:41:53.638-07:00Moving Forward on Corporal Punishment<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">This blog explores the current
status of corporal punishment in the Ghanaian school system with the ultimate
aim to expose reasons for reform, and to provide effective alternatives to
corporal punishment. The aim is that Ghanaian stakeholders will come to understand the human rights basis for eliminating corporal
punishment in schools, and in addition the pragmatic reasons for its
abolishment as well. The basis is a human rights based
focus, using the paradigm that children, and all other students deserve to have
their rights defended and protected. The right to life, liberty and the
security of person is not a matter of culture or norms but rather is a universal
right, that applies to all, male and female, adult and child, to all citizens
of our globe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Corporal Punishment in Ghana Today</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Currently
if a teacher wishes to administer corporal punishment, regulations specify that
is must be done under the strict supervision on the head teacher. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Despite
this though in reality corporal punishment is frequently administered outside
of the official guidelines.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Examples
leading to corporal punishment include <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l5 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->incorrect
answering of questions in class, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l5 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->being
late for school or <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-list: l5 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->showing
even slightly unruly behaviour. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->2/3
of student dropouts cite corporal punishment as the most disliked aspect of
their schooling,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Story 1<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->John
was only 7 years old and he cited the long distances he had to walk to school
as the factor which ultimately drove him to drop out. The distance he had to
walk to school meant that he often arrived at school late, which led to
punishment (caning), and made him miss school for fear of further punishment,
so affecting his academic progress<o:p></o:p></div>
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Story 2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Mensah, a young boy, dropped out of school on
account of the punishment he had received. “The teacher confiscated my
flip-flops and caned me for wearing them to school … but I do not have any
other shoes and cannot walk to school barefoot.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Legal Status<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->At
present corporal punishment remains legal in Ghanaian schools and the Education
Act allows for “caning up to six strokes by a head teacher or person authorised
by the head. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Ministerial
directives advise against the use of corporal punishment in schools but this
has not been confirmed in legislation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Historical Context<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Corporal
punishment has an ancient history reaching back in the historical record at
least to ancient Greece and the times of the Old Testament<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->What
other things that may have been historically practiced are no longer tolerated
(examples could include slavery, Africans and women without the right to vote
etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->History
does not mean there can’t be change and at times it means there must be change.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tgqBrroUAVk/UYj2eY3lbKI/AAAAAAAAAFM/qt1Hhk4iGwA/s1600/Caning+Results.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tgqBrroUAVk/UYj2eY3lbKI/AAAAAAAAAFM/qt1Hhk4iGwA/s1600/Caning+Results.gif" /></a></div>
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Human Rights<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Many
of our previously practiced behaviours that we now condemn have changed over the centuries, often based
on the concept of human rights.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Universal
human rights provide a connecting vision of humankind that can be a catalyst
for change. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Education
plays a key role in instigating this change by planting the seed of core human
rights and global citizenship.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Convention on Rights of the Child<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Article
37 of the Child’s Rights Convention (CRC) of which Ghana is a signatory to,
requires that “no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment”; <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Article
19 requires states to protect children “from all forms of physical or mental
violence”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The
Committee on the Rights of the Child – the monitoring body for the CRC has
addressed corporal punishment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->They
repeatedly emphasise that this includes the prohibition and elimination of
corporal punishment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The
Committee has also emphasised that it is referring to <i>all </i>corporal
punishment, “however light”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Religious Rights<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->In
Ghana it is frequent that faith based arguments are raised supporting the need
for corporal punishment, often based on the Bible or Shariah law.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->International
human rights law does protect religious freedom, but such freedom cannot
infringe on the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nothing New<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Human
rights are not new, but rather are principles and ideas that have been found in
cultures and religions around the world for several millennia .<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Not
many would argue that individuals do not have the right to be protected from
violence, exploitation and abuse and in that spirit we should consider children.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo9; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Think
about this when reading the following quote “Children are not mini human beings
with mini rights. As long as adults continue to regard children as mini human
beings, violence against them will persist.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Negative Results of Corporal Punishment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Corporal
Punishment, even if one is not swayed by the rights of children, has now been
shown to be detrimental to its own goals and to the health of children who
suffer under it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Repeated
studies have found disturbing links between the application of corporal
punishment and an increase, after the punishment in aggression, delinquency and
even spousal assault later in life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The
linkages have become clear after years of research, physical punishment elicits
aggression.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->An
increase in aggression is not the only risk though, there is a broad range of
negative outcomes as a result of corporal punishment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Violence Begets Violence<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M1N1ob9USwE/UYjr9rBTYiI/AAAAAAAAAFA/P3eb7UajZ3U/s1600/Violence+is+not+the+answer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M1N1ob9USwE/UYjr9rBTYiI/AAAAAAAAAFA/P3eb7UajZ3U/s1600/Violence+is+not+the+answer.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://www.socipoll.com/img/polls/dbNwXY25QwvM.jpg"><span style="background: white;">http://www.socipoll.com/img/polls/dbNwXY25QwvM.jpg</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo10; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->No
study has found that physical punishment enhances the developmental health of
children.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->CP
has been shown to lead to increased absenteeism, self-esteem issues, anxiety,
and increased violence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l9 level1 lfo11; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Other
studies show that CP can lead to mood disorders, mental disorders, anxiety
disorders, substance abuse/dependence, and personality disorders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hidden Message in Corporal Punishment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Children
pick up on the unspoken message that corporal punishment communicates, a message that “encourages a view of children
as less worthy of protection and respect for their bodily integrity based on
outdated notions of their inferior personhood.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l11 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The
other message is that hitting is an acceptable means of dealing with conflict.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some are Campaigning against Corporal Punishment in Africa<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4bxUxeOQkk">http://</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4bxUxeOQkk">www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4bxUxeOQkk</a></u></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: -18pt;">Discipline Problems and Solutions</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->When
considering alternatives to corporal punishment it is important to first
understand some key ideas. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Discipline
problems must not be confused with discipline solutions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The
problems with discipline that teachers account in their school must be
separated from the way the school responds to those problems. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->“There
is a tendency for teachers who are against prohibition to point to children’s
behaviour as demonstrating the need for corporal punishment. But children’s behaviour does not necessitate
a violent response”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Discipline vs. Punishment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Discipline
is not the same as punishment. Real discipline is not based on force, but grows
from understanding, mutual respect and tolerance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Corporal
punishment tells children nothing about how they should behave. On the
contrary, hitting children is a lesson in bad behaviour. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->It
teaches children that adults find it acceptable to use violence to sort out
problems or conflicts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Respect versus Fear<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Respect
should not be confused with fear. “Good” behaviour due to fear of being
punished means that a child is avoiding punishment, not showing respect. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Corporal
punishment can appear to be effective when it results in immediate compliance,
but its negative short and long term effects are well documented.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alternatives to Corporal Punishment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Provide
direct instruction to students in social skills and problem-solving strategies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Use
positive reinforcement to teach and maintain the use of appropriate
problem-solving and social skills.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Use
social reinforcers such as teacher feedback, peer pressure, and other
self-esteem enhancing activities to support and maintain the use of
problem-solving and social skills.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Apply
logical consequences that will teach students personal responsibility for their
actions; for example. losing the privilege of participating in special school
activities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Consider
the use of time out, which may allow students to learn to take control of their
actions and ultimately, in conjunction with instruction in social skills, to
cease their undesirable behavior. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Employ
problem-solving classroom meetings and/or school assemblies with honest
discussion of problems to encourage student ownership of and responsibility for
solutions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Establish
contractual agreements that clearly outline consequences with students and
their parents to enhance the development of self control behavior. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Establish
a variety of strategies for communicating with parents. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Establish
an in-school suspension program, supervised by a responsible adult, in which
the student performs curricula-related activities. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->When
necessary. and possible, refer students to a counselor, social worker and/or
psychologist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Evaluate
and arrange appropriate curriculum and adequate support for students who need
academic acceleration, special education, alternative education or services for
achieving English proficiency.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Consider
the use of suspensions and/or expulsions only after all other alternatives have
been exhausted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Corporal Punishment and Religion<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Often
there are arguments that corporal punishment is supported or even mandated by
certain religious texts. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->It
is important to understand that in this situation there may be a lack of
awareness that there may be alternative interpretations which would promote
non-violent disciplinary measures. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Over
the last two decades there has been a
“growing faith-based support for ending the use of corporal punishment<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->An
increasing number of “religious leaders promoting non-violence in childrearing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--> For example, at the 2006 World Assembly of
Religions for Peace in Kyoto, Japan, more than 800 faith leaders endorsed “a
religious commitment to combat violence against children”, including
prohibiting all CP.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Relevant Christian Passages<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Parents,
don’t be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct
them about the Lord - Ephesians 6:4<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->“What
do you want me to do when I arrive? Do you want me to be hard on you or to be
kind and gentle” - 1 Corinthians 4:21<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->“Parents,
don’t be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up” - Colossians
3:21<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Relevant Muslim Passages<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The
Prophet said: The Compassionate One has mercy on those who are merciful. If you
show mercy to those who are on the earth, He Who is in the heaven will show
mercy to you (Abu Dawud, 4941)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->“Anas
ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the servant of the Prophet, had
another recollection: I never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards
children than Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) (Abdullah,
parag. 8)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Conclusions<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->The
key thing to remember is that corporal punishment does not make children feel
responsible for their own actions, the fear of getting caught causes them to
avoid confrontation with teachers up to and including dropping out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->In
addition the students become focused on the punishment, rather than on the
misbehaviour. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Educators
should care about the success of their students, so pitting the teachers
against them as the enforcers of corporal punishment undermines this role.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ghanaian Proverbs<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->When
times change, so must we.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Force
against force equals more force<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-30585107289552778172013-05-07T04:51:00.003-07:002013-05-07T04:52:03.923-07:00Poverty Has a Creation Story: Let's Tell ItInteresting article from authors Martin Kirk and Joe Brewer which can be found at <a href="http://thinkafricapress.com/culture/poverty-has-creation-story-lets-tell-it">http://thinkafricapress.com/culture/poverty-has-creation-story-lets-tell-it</a><br />
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Poverty Has a Creation Story: Let's Tell It</h1>
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It is rarely explained how poverty is perpetuated, leading many to see it as natural and inevitable. If poverty is truly to be tackled, the logic of the debate must be changed.</div>
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ARTICLE | <time content="2013-04-23T13:10:13+01:00" datatype="xsd:dateTime" datetime="2013-04-23" property="dc:issued">23 APRIL 2013 - 1:10PM</time> | BY <a content="Martin Kirk" href="http://thinkafricapress.com/author/martin-kirk" property="dc:creator" rel="foaf:publications" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" typeof="foaf:person">MARTIN KIRK</a>, <a content="Joe Brewer" href="http://thinkafricapress.com/author/joe-brewer" property="dc:creator" rel="foaf:publications" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;" typeof="foaf:person">JOE BREWER</a></div>
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What would you say if we told you that the biggest obstacle to eradicating poverty is the way we <i>think</i> about it? That the human mind and our common sense logic about how the world works is where the battle to end poverty must first be waged? How might that alter how we approach concerns about economic development, healthcare, education, women’s rights, trade relations, and national debt?</div>
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We all know what “common sense” is supposed to mean. And it’s a bit like ‘taste’, in that most of us think we have it. If there is anything that epitomises the concept of simple truth, common sense is it. In fact, Merriam-Webster describes it as "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts”.</div>
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It is such a feather-light, seemingly benign little phrase. And yet it is a driver of almost all human problems in the world. This is because what we call ‘common sense’ informs everything we do – it is the water our minds swim in. And, like fish in water, we barely recognise it’s there, let alone know how to account for it.</div>
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But contemporary research in cognitive science tells us that, rather than being a reliable and simple thing, common sense is a highly complex and largely invisible collection of subconscious mechanisms, intertwined assumptions, persistent bodily experiences and habitual perceptions layered up over our lives. It is shaped and influenced by the cultures we live in, and it can be faulty and misleading in all sorts of ways.</div>
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In fact, if there’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that we can never assume clear or absolute – and certainly never ‘simple’ – common sense. Because we have human brains, we inevitably hold false information; are beholden to the perspective engendered by our own particular lives; and rely on stereotypes and archetypes to understand both ourselves and each other. This means, however well-educated or seemingly dispassionate we strive to be, we are always and forever prone to selective understanding and knee-jerk, irrational, and emotional judgments<i>.</i></div>
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Swimming in common sense soup</h3>
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So how does this apply to the practice of tackling inequality and poverty? Well, as with everything in life, there’s a lot of ‘common sense’ employed around ideas of inequality and poverty by NGOs, foundations, businesses, government agencies, and the broader public. It is the implied logic we subconsciously employ to filter and process information. For example, it informs whether we understand poor people more as victims or perpetrators of their situation.</div>
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This ‘common sense’ is inevitably mixed with ideas of race, class, gender, nationality and any number of other variables, and inevitably affected by factors such as personal experience, age, educational background, social and cultural environment, and even mood. What we usually call fact, data, or empirical evidence therefore exists as one type of seasoning – albeit a very important one – in a highly personalised soup of thought. So understanding the ‘common sense’ logic that exists in our minds – individually and collectively – around inequality and poverty is essential if we are to engender action that might tackle it successfully, not to mention sustainably.</div>
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Luckily for anti-poverty activists and groups, a lot is now known about the science of common sense. Linguists have studied it for decades, revealing the mental structures (called “frames”) that organise our social experiences into webs of inferential logic and associated knowledge. Psychologists have identified the emotional triggers that give rise to moral judgments, values and beliefs. Brain researchers have shown how perceptions arise as information processed in our heads. In other words, these frames – this ‘common sense’ – can be defined, studied, measured and affected in a rigorous and systematic manner to improve our effectiveness in real-world campaigns. What is needed now is for practitioners in the field to adopt this learning as a new standard, and put it into everyday practice.</div>
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Poor, passive, undifferentiated</h3>
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To date, precious little work has been done to study common sense when it comes to inequality and poverty. We helped prepare the <a href="http://www.findingframes.org/" style="color: black;"><i>Finding Frames</i></a> report (published in 2011) that looked at this question in the British context, and have commissioned some top-line research into global common sense for our global anti-poverty campaign <a href="http://www.therules.org/" style="color: black;"><i>/The Rules</i></a>, but so much more needs to be done. Anti-poverty advocates need to understand how it varies across geographies and in different cultural contexts if we are to build a coordinated, planetary-scale response to the structural causes of inequality.</div>
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What is clear from preliminary studies is that attitudes to poverty in the UK, and very possibly across the Global North, are not encouraging. When we looked at all the available data and did some linguistic analysis, we found a set of very troubling underlying assumptions. The soup, you might say, was off.</div>
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The whole study can be seen <a href="http://findingframes.org/" style="color: black;">here</a>, but in summary most people conceive of global poverty as an issue synonymous with “aid”, which is seen as an act of charity. Charity, in turn, rests on the interaction between a powerful giver – be that an individual or a nation – and a grateful receiver. In this common sense, agency lies almost exclusively with the powerful givers; the grateful receivers are simply understood as poor, needy, and without control over their own destiny. Further, in global settings, “the poor” are understood as an undifferentiated group without intrinsic strength, often referred to through the shorthand of “Africa”, where nothing ever changes. It is in the photos of starving children in fund-raising advertisements; in pop concerts designed to raise a few million pounds or dollars; and in nonprofit charity shops where secondhand goods are bought and sold cheaply that this common sense of poverty is perpetuated.</div>
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This won’t surprise most people who live in the Global South (another label that tends to cluster people into a category of anonymity). When you are on the receiving end of negative, judgemental or paternalistic frames, you can feel it. What might be more surprising is some of what we found when we looked more at the global picture.</div>
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The need for a creation story</h3>
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One of the major discoveries from our research was that anti-poverty groups, both in North and South, rarely if ever explain where poverty comes from. This is a critical omission in the common sense of poverty. It means there is a gaping hole in the logic that stands in the way of commensurate action to tackle it. In other words, because there is no commonly understood creation story, there is no clear, logically robust understanding of (a) what causes poverty, (b) who the principal actors are, and therefore (c) a solution that can be readily and widely accepted.</div>
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Every religion has a creation story. So does every tribe, nation and ideological camp. The creation story provides the original cause from which all else follows. For example, the Story of Original Sin from the Abrahamic religious tradition tells us where human fallibility came from – an apple plucked from the Tree of Knowledge by an unwitting woman in the Garden of Eden. It offers a historic context from which all evil sprang forth onto the world in a moment of human weakness. And it does so with such memorable visual concreteness that most of us can recite the entire tale thousands of years after it was first written down.</div>
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Poverty, as we talk about it today, has no creation story. It lacks a commonly understood cause. And so there is no logical solution for how to end it. In other words, there is no mental architecture that helps us intuit and envision it ever being eradicated. To succeed at changing this common sense, anti-poverty groups will need to introduce a creation story</div>
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Shifting the narrative of poverty</h3>
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So where does poverty come from? An in-depth answer to this question is not within the scope of this piece, but we published <a href="http://thinkafricapress.com/economy/blog/who-creates-poverty-the-rules" style="color: black;">this article</a> recently to bring attention to what we believe are structural and systemic causes of inequality – a set of financial rules introduced by an elite minority to game the global economy. We have recently launched a new organisation, /<a href="http://www.therules.org/" style="color: black;">The Rules</a>, to embody and promote this common sense in the operational setting of campaigns and collective actions.</div>
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Empowered with this creation story, we can mobilise around concrete goals that readily make sense within the context of the <i>economy as a cooperative game</i>. Employing this commonplace frame to make sense of our collective experience, we are able to tell a story about the unfair policy structures that were set up intentionally by a recognisable cohort of people to extract wealth and pool it in their personal coffers. It was this common sense that fuelled the Occupy Movement in 2012, enabling it to spread from a tiny park in New York to the world stage in a few short weeks – the frame used was already widely shared in the minds of people everywhere. We are now deploying it as a narrative vehicle to deliver what we believe to be deep truths about the state of the world we are living in today.</div>
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By framing mass poverty as something that is created by human beings, what we do is fill a crucial hole in the logic for the common sense of poverty. And once this hole is filled, all sorts of new options become more concrete and apparent. Immediately, logical targets arise; it becomes apparent where to invest resources to create meaningful change, and how others can get involved. In short, we gain an agenda for change that is bigger and more radical than small transfers of money from rich to poor and one that, crucially, works with the power of common sense.</div>
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Deliberate and mindful framing is essential to effective communication. We are at base camp of a mountain of knowledge that should be considered critical to anyone interested in shifting narratives and common sense, including around poverty. At <i>/The Rules</i> we are working to put this knowledge to use in what will be a long uphill battle against entrenched powers that benefit from the status quo. But before we can succeed against them, we have to deeply and thoroughly understand ourselves.</div>
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If we are to transform the political and economic systems that create and perpetuate poverty, we will have to change the logic of the debate. Doing this will require that we incorporate the best science of human understanding into our strategies for communication and engagement. The knowledge exists today for us to begin down this long road to cultural change that we believe to be a prerequisite for success.</div>
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-30097995352879247772013-04-04T03:59:00.002-07:002013-04-04T04:00:15.676-07:00Interesting Gender Equity Articles<br />
Happened to be reviewing some e-newsletters I get and their were two interesting articles with regard to feminism and sexism. One focuses on "benevolent" sexism and why even what appear as compliments can be damaging to gender equity, and one on a new study showing the gender bias in science hiring.<br />
These articles are worth a read, I encourage you to take a look.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psysociety/2013/04/02/benevolent-sexism/?WT_mc_id=SA_DD_20130402">Benevolent Sexism?</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://bigthink.com/experts-corner/periodic-tables-gender-bias-and-stereotypes?utm_source=Daily+Ideafeed+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2c0bec2f1a-Daily_Ideafeed_April_1_2013&utm_medium=email">Periodic Tables, Gender Bias and Stereotypes?</a>Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-16509253756118575962013-03-18T05:59:00.002-07:002013-03-18T05:59:32.572-07:00King Arthur, Okomfo Anoyke and the Sword in the Stone
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well things have been progressing really well here in Ghana,
Janna and I are now over half done our mandate here. We were really excited to
have our daughter Regan visit us for three weeks in February. We took the
opportunity to explore Ghana with her seeing great sights including cultural
treasures of the Ashanti Kingdom in Kumasi, a walking safari in Mole National
Park and some wonderful time on the beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches in the
west of Ghana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kumasi is Ghana’s second biggest city, and the traditional
heartland for the Ashanti Kingdom, which held sway over much of Ghana for
hundreds of years. Wikipedia in its overview of the Ashanti people (seen at the bottom of this blog) reveals the
rich history of this still strong Ghanaian tribe. We explored a museum
revealing the history of the Ashanti Kingdom, and it was fascinating. Of
interest was a sealed container that was given to the original king in the
dynasty, by a priest, that must stay sealed if the kingdom is to survive. The
container remains unopened for over 300 years. As well there was a replica of the golden stool (throne) of the king. This replica was created and given to the British after the Ashanti were defeated in battle just over a century ago. To this day the real stool remains in hiding, its location known only to the king a some of his advisors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In addition, nearby to the museum there is an interesting sword that is stuck in
the ground in Kumasi. For those of you familiar with the King Arthur legend you
will be interested in the similarity. As you may remember in the King Arthur
story only the true king can pull the sword out of the stone, despite stronger
candidates doing their best. Arthur, even though only a boy, pulls it from the stone, verifying that he is the true king.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In Ghana it is a different story. The holy man Okomfo Anoke
(see image below), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5mLZ1PmWL4TLlfAmOyejNPhyphenhyphen-k5-ezRTuFR4j_T4ycVos439V9FuvkV44A4hQkJzcSIFqAMfC9hJ04FeE8v8ekOFGsPjNn2xyf8OKuhbF688pYa9goG14r6AZjuNDXn7Nxs3faF_iZ-e/s1600/112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5mLZ1PmWL4TLlfAmOyejNPhyphenhyphen-k5-ezRTuFR4j_T4ycVos439V9FuvkV44A4hQkJzcSIFqAMfC9hJ04FeE8v8ekOFGsPjNn2xyf8OKuhbF688pYa9goG14r6AZjuNDXn7Nxs3faF_iZ-e/s320/112.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></v:shapetype></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">who is one of the key figures in
the creation of the Ashanti Kingdom, stuck a sword into stone and declared that
as long as that sword remained in the stone the Ashanti Kingdom would never
fall. The sword remains in the stone to this day, and the Ashanti Kingdom also
remains. Over the years many people have tried to pull the sword from the
stone, including a British man in the 1950s who apparently tried to use
machinery to pull out the sword, but whenever he would try to hook it up the
sword would disappear. Even Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer gave it a try. Below
is the picture we took of the sword, and no, we weren’t allowed to give it a
try ourselves at pulling it out. In the picture you can see offerings of
schnapps, which is a common offering here in traditional religious practices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aJ5xkD43GDcDM6vQwuJmWVX3O-5Y-FIpMnC_MqBhl23rOGaikisq-UpuScAXMwZiJ2A0FZohXBkLnA-HKZRNKNZA2ETxGJ_BtpRLLmq6A2KBnAxi5x_UHR-86JNbMgeHyY93rFgFWqEJ/s1600/111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aJ5xkD43GDcDM6vQwuJmWVX3O-5Y-FIpMnC_MqBhl23rOGaikisq-UpuScAXMwZiJ2A0FZohXBkLnA-HKZRNKNZA2ETxGJ_BtpRLLmq6A2KBnAxi5x_UHR-86JNbMgeHyY93rFgFWqEJ/s320/111.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To see a great video on the Ashanti Kingdom I recommend the
BBC’s excellent overview which my parents shared with me just before we left
for Ghana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bgndm"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bgndm</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Ashanti
Kingdom<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The Ashanti went
from being a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tributary_state" title="Tributary state"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">tributary state</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> to a centralized hierarchical
kingdom. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osei_Tutu" title="Osei Tutu"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Osei
Tutu</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, military leader and head of the Oyoko clan, founded the Ashanti
kingdom in the 1670s.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people#cite_note-2"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">[2]</span></a></sup> He
obtained the support of other clan chiefs and using Kumasi as the central base,
subdued surrounding Akan states. He challenged and eventually defeated </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denkyira" title="Denkyira"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Denkyira</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in
1701.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Realizing the
weakness of a loose confederation of Akan states, Osei Tutu strengthened
centralization of the surrounding Akan groups and expanded the powers judiciary
system within the centralized government. Thus, this loose confederation of
small city-states grew into a kingdom or empire looking to expand its land.
Newly conquered areas had the option of joining the empire or becoming
tributary states.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people#cite_note-3"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">[3]</span></a></sup></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <span lang="EN"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opoku_Ware_I" title="Opoku Ware I"><span style="color: blue;">Opoku
Ware I</span></a>, Osei Tutu's successor, extended the borders, embracing much of
present day Ghana's territory.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people#cite_note-4"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">[4]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Golden
Stool<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The legend of '</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asante_royal_thrones" title="Asante royal thrones"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Golden Stool</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">' (sika 'dwa) actually tells of
the birth of the Ashanti kingdom itself. In the seventeenth century, in order
for the Ashanti to win their independence from Denkyira, then another powerful </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_people" title="Akan people"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Akan</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
state, a meeting of all the clan heads of each of the Ashanti settlements was
called. In this meeting, the Golden Stool was commanded down from the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven" title="Heaven"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">heavens</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> by Okomfo
Anokye, the Priest, or sage advisor, to the very first </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asantehene" title="Asantehene"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Asantehene</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
(Ashanti king), Osei Tutu I. The Golden Stool floated down from the heavens
straight into the lap of Osei Tutu I. Okomfo Anokye declared the stool to be
the symbol of the new Ashanti union ('Asanteman'), and allegiance was sworn to
the Golden Stool and to Osei Tutu as the Asantehene. The newly founded Ashanti
union went to war with Denkyira and defeated it.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people#cite_note-5"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">[5]</span></a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Golden Stool
is sacred to the Ashanti, as it is believed that it contains the 'Sunsum' —
spirit or soul of the Ashanti people. Just as man cannot live without a soul,
so the Ashanti would cease to exist if the Golden Stool were to be taken from
them. The Golden Stool is not just sacred; it is a symbol of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation" title="Nation"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">nationhood</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, a
symbol that binds or unifies all Ashanti.the stool was believed to be so sacred
not even the king was allowed to sit on it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Golden Stool
is a curved seat 46 cm high with a platform 61 cm wide and 30 cm deep. Its
entire surface is inlaid with gold, and hung with bells to warn the king of
impending danger. It is an Ashanti legend and has only been seen by the tribe's
royalty. Only the king and trusted advisers know the hiding place of the stool.
Replicas of the stool have been produced for the chiefs and at their funerals
are ceremonially blackened with animal blood, a symbol of their power for
generations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_National_Archives_UK_-_CO_1069-43-13-1-001.jpg"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><v:shape alt="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/The_National_Archives_UK_-_CO_1069-43-13-1-001.jpg/307px-The_National_Archives_UK_-_CO_1069-43-13-1-001.jpg" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_National_Archives_UK_-_CO_1069-43-13-1-001.jpg" id="Picture_x0020_4" o:button="t" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 168pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 230.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
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</v:imagedata></span></v:shape></span></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_National_Archives_UK_-_CO_1069-43-13-1-001.jpg" title=""Enlarge" "><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><v:shape alt="http://bits.wikimedia.org/static-1.21wmf11/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_National_Archives_UK_-_CO_1069-43-13-1-001.jpg" id="Picture_x0020_3" o:button="t" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 8.25pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 11.25pt;" title=""Enlarge"" type="#_x0000_t75"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<v:imagedata o:title="magnify-clip" src="file:///C:\Users\Jules\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.png">
</v:imagedata></span></v:shape></span></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Asanteman </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_Durbar" title="Coronation Durbar"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Coronation
Durbar</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_city" title="Capital city"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">capital city</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumasi" title="Kumasi"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Kumasi</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Otumfuo </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osei_Tutu_Agyeman_Prempeh_II" title="Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Prempeh II</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> the Asantehene is seen with
the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Stool" title="Golden Stool"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Golden
Stool</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of Asanteman and members of his </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinue" title="Retinue"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">retinue</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, in 1953.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Ashanti have
always defended their Golden Stool when it was at risk. In 1896, the Ashanti
allowed their King, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prempeh_I" title="Prempeh I"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Prempeh I</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, to be exiled rather than risk losing a war and
the Golden Stool in the process. The Governor of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Coast_(British_colony)" title="Gold Coast (British colony)"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Gold Coast</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Mitchell_Hodgson" title="Frederick Mitchell Hodgson"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Sir Frederick Hodgson</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, demanded to sit
on the stool in 1900. The Ashanti remained silent and when the assembly ended, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Golden_Stool" title="War of the Golden Stool"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">they went home and prepared for war</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.
Although they lost on the battle field, they claimed victory because they
fought only to preserve the sanctity of the Golden Stool, and they had. Then in
1920, a group of African road builders accidentally found the Golden Stool and
stripped it of its gold ornaments. They were tried by an Ashanti court, found
guilty, and the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_penalty" title="Death penalty"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">death penalty</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> was imposed. But the British intervened
and the sentence was commuted to perpetual </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exile" title="Exile"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">banishment</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Ashanti have
always been proud of the uniqueness of their </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Stool" title="Golden Stool"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Golden
Stool</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, and it was a symbol of not only their independence, but a common
bond between their people. When the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyaaman" title="Gyaaman"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">King of Gyaaman</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
Adinkra, made a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Stool" title="Golden Stool"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Golden Stool</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> for himself, the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Asante" title="List of rulers of Asante"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Asantehene</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> was so annoyed that he led a
massive army against him. Adinkra was completely destroyed near </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondoukou" title="Bondoukou"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Bondoukou</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
and he was decapitated. The Asantehene then proceeded to order the melt down of
Adinkra's golden stool, and for it to be made into two masks, to represent his
"ugly" face. These masks remain hanging on each side of the Ashanti
Golden Stool to this hour” </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(Wikipedia, 2013, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people#Ashanti_Kingdom"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_people#Ashanti_Kingdom</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">).<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-62128346177820356662013-03-18T04:40:00.001-07:002013-03-18T04:40:39.358-07:00Millenium Development Goals Post-2015
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In an earlier post I discussed the </span><a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Millennium Development Goals</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and
how they have been a guiding force in development work in the 21<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup>
century. What is a huge discussion now is what is next as 2015 fast approaches?
The world is being invited to submit what they think should be next, so your
voice matters whether you are in the North or the South, developed world or
developing. If you want to put in your thoughts go </span><a href="http://www.worldwewant2015.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and </span><a href="http://www.myworld2015.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Council on Foreign Relations has been exploring this
topic and it is worth a read. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“In the </span><a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/issues/2013/92/2" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">March/April
2013</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> issue of <i>Foreign Affairs</i>, development scholar John McArthur, a
former manager of the UN Millennium Project, reviews the history of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and takes stock of their progress. As he </span><a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138821/john-w-mcarthur/own-the-goals" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">writes</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From 1981 to 1999, extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa
rose from 52 percent of the population to 58 percent. But since the launch of
the MDGs, it has declined sharply, to 48 percent in 2008. Much of this was likely
driven by MDG-backed investments in healthier and better-educated work forces
in the region. The global MDG campaign has also prompted support for small
subsistence and cash-crop farms, which has boosted growth in many low-income
countries, such as Malawi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Looking forward,” he argues, “the next generation of goals
should maintain the accessible simplicity that has allowed the MDGs to succeed
and also facilitate the creation of better accountability mechanisms both
within and across governments.” You can read the full article </span><a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138821/john-w-mcarthur/own-the-goals" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">; other perspectives on the MDGs and the post-2015
agenda are available on the Development Channel </span><a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/development-channel/category/millennium-development-goals/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">” (Council on Foreign Relations, 2013, </span><a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/development-channel/2013/02/28/new-from-cfr-foreign-affairs-on-the-millennium-development-goals/)"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://blogs.cfr.org/development-channel/2013/02/28/new-from-cfr-foreign-affairs-on-the-millennium-development-goals/)</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ongoing discussions of the topic can be followed beginning
with the blog below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://blogs.cfr.org/development-channel/2013/01/17/global-goals-for-human-rights-and-governance-after-2015/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://blogs.cfr.org/development-channel/2013/01/17/global-goals-for-human-rights-and-governance-after-2015/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-42802259516751925692013-03-18T03:43:00.001-07:002013-03-18T03:45:31.352-07:00Mobile Money in Developing Economies<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the activities I am working on here in Ghana with my organization, the </span><a href="http://gnecc.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (GNECC) is a new process for the collection of membership dues. Currently our members, mostly non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the education sector, pay yearly membership dues to GNECC. This currently requires them to travel to a lead agency representative we have in each of the seven regions we work in Ghana. Our new approach will allow our members to pay these dues in a much more convenient way using their mobile phone. They will be able to do this in thousands of locations in Ghana, and with training can do it themselves wherever they are. This will be hugely convenient to our members but it will also have a real benefit for GNECC, as easier to pay dues are more likely to be paid. GNECC is working towards reducing its reliance on donors to strengthen its resilience and sustainability and a robust system to collect membership fees is key, especially in the context where so many Ghanaians do not have access to banks or credit as we are used to in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mobile money—the ability to store and transfer money using cell phones—is one of the most talked-about technologies in global development. Proponents believe it could redefine what it means to be poor by giving poor people<span style="color: #343434; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #343434; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.brookings.edu/events/2012/06/11-financial-inclusion"><span style="color: blue;">access to basic financial services</span></a>. </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Below is a short video outlining how mobile money can make a difference in the developing world.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yE-jFQnu5Jg"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yE-jFQnu5Jg</span></a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-18744646561015144442013-01-21T02:07:00.001-08:002013-01-21T02:07:22.064-08:00Hike Back in Time
<br />
After returning from the Volta region to Accra, Janna and I spent a
wonderful few days celebrating Christmas with friends. On the 23rd we hosted a
dinner at our place with our remaining housemates as well as some of our
friends still in town. On the 24th we had a great Italian Christmas Eve at our
friend Elizabeth's house. We had delicious seafood pasta dishes as her family
has back in Pennsylvania. Janna and I also provided a spread of appetizers
which is our regular Christmas Eve tradition. In the morning Janna and I made
omelettes, pancakes and bacon. It was great spending Christmas with good
friends.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
On the 26th Janna and I again shouldered our travel bags and we headed for
the Republic of Togo on Ghana's eastern border. Via Lome, the capital city, we
headed up to the region bordering the Volta region we had been in the week
before to do some more hiking. We visited the area around a town named Kpalime
and first headed up to a small village named Klouto to spend the night at the
Auberge de Papillon. The village was very nice, the accommodation was adequate
at 3500 CFA. While we were sitting in the outside eating area waiting for our
dinner Janna and I both heard unexpected music. From the local bar/variety
store we heard strains of the Imperial March, the opening theme for the Star
Wars movies. We wandered over and found the children of the village, as well as
quite a few adults gathered together on benches and chairs around a projection
on a sheet of Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace. It was quite surreal to
see everyone sitting under a tree watching starships and Jedi knights in the
midst of a mountaintop village surrounded by lush tropical forest. The movie
was coming from a laptop and projector provided by a man who may have been an
expat living in Togo. The sound was hooked up to speakers the bar provided and
the sound quality was quite good. Togo is a former French colony so the movie
was in French. We sat down with the village and watched until our dinner was
ready. It was a ton of fun and the children seemed to really enjoy the movie.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
In the morning we went on a guided hike to see butterflies, local medicinal
plants as well as plants used to provide pigments for painting and body
marking. The colours were amazingly vibrant
and durable and with the colours available any colour can be made through
mixing. The guide painted a palm tree on my arm that lasted for 3 days even
after swimming and showers.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The next day we hiked up an amazing mountain. The day itself was a
fascinating mix of the new and the old. The day started with us going to the
local cell phone provider in order to get access to the internet. It still
amazes me that you can be in a rural area of Africa and yet make phone calls, send
texts, check your e-mail and hook up to the global positioning system in order
to pinpoint your current location. From there we went to a nearby town to begin
our hike.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The hike felt as much as a hike up a mountain as it did a hike back in time.
As we penetrated deeper into the tropical forest the signs of the town
disappeared. Occasionally on the narrow foot path we would encounter villagers
from higher up the mountain coming down for supplies or bringing down items for
sale as has been done for millenia. At times the forest would clear and an
ancient graveyard would be revealed or a lookout to the surrounding hills and
the valley below would appear. After walking for almost an hour we entered a
hillside village that we heard before we saw. Strains for tribal drumming could
be heard filtering through the trees as we approached, a sound I have heard in
cultural presentations, but never in their traditional setting. As the forest
opened we came into a village perched on the slopes of the hillside, like a terraced
garden. We followed paths that led from house to house as we observed the daily
rituals that are regularly practiced to this day in African villages. Smoke
from cooking fires poured out of roof holes, wash water was flung out of
windows to the paths below, and the already present drumming was accompanied by
the strains of music made from horns adapted with finger holes to make a wind
instrument. We were welcomed to the village by all whom we saw, the only sign
of modernity being the replacement of thatched roofs with tin on the mud brick
structures.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
As we left this village we soon learned that this was as far as our “guide”
had ever been on this trail, one village away from his village. After some
mistaken paths we were soon set straight by the villagers, who kindly pointed
us farther up the mountain. We continued upwards reaching another similar
village about an hour later, a village we decided should be our turnaround
point. While hiking back down the path we encountered the previously mentioned drummers
hiking down the path, on their way to another celebration. Their faces were
painted with symbols, dots and lines in white face paint, and aside from the
drums one of them carried a live goat. The goat had also had paint applied, red
paint covered its front legs. They quickly overtook us, moving quickly down the
mountain until we were once again alone with our guide. Janna and I were happy
to arrive back at the road junction, having had an amazing experience hiking
not only up in altitude, but back in time.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-59063456427375611822013-01-07T01:36:00.003-08:002013-01-07T01:36:29.670-08:00Communing with the Monkey GodsI last left off with Janna and I perhaps ill advisedly hiking up to our next accomadation in the Volta region called Mountain Paradise Lodge. We had read that it was 2 km but it ended up being 4 km. Now 4 km is not usually much of a hike for us but we weren't prepared for the walk. Instead of the nice hike to our lodge that we expected we found ourselves enveloped in dust rising from the frequently passing construction vehicles, baking under the sun with no shade in sight, without enough water on us on a road whose grade must surely surpass any suggested steepness requirements for a mountain road. Needless to say, upon finally arriving at the lodge we were delighted to see its beautiful setting, but were even more immediately glad to get some cold drinks. The lodge definately is well situated as it is nestled amongst a surrounding ringe of forested mountains. The mountains in Ghana are not particularly high but they are quite scenic nonetheless. After having been refreshed we decided to retrace our steps back down the road, this time with plenty of water, without a giant pack and most important, we were traveling downhill, gravity is a wonderful thing. We were off to see the protected nature reserve nearby, specifically to see some monkeys.<br />
<div>
The monkeys in this area were until relatively recently considered to be sacred. The local peoples emigrated to this area of Ghana a few hundred years ago to escape slave raiding Ashanti warriors. Turtles were sacred to them, being animist conduits to the divine. The monkeys were conduits as well especially between the people and the sacred turtles. For this role the monkeys were protected up until the late 1970s and early 1980s when the strong influence of Christianity in Ghana led to the rejection of these beliefs. Some un the area, in defiance of the previously held taboo against causing harm to the monkeys instead actively hunted them. By the early 1990s this species was almost extirpated. It was only through government and donor efforts that a nature reserve established with the aim to promote ecotourism. This brought tourists to the area and therefore provided an economic incentive to once again protect the monkeys. After walking through the protected forest with our guide for approxiately 15 minutes we all of a sudden found the trees around us full of a troop of monkeys. As befits conduits to the gods we had an offering for them, as has been done for centuries. Not surprisingly, when your sacred conduit is a monkey, they like to be offered bananas. It is not normally wise to feed wuld animals in a protected park but this park is interestingly unique as it is part nature reserve but also part cultural reserve. There has been a symbiotic relationship between the local peoples and these monkeys for centuries, and by continuing it the local forest is preserved, a cultural tradition is remembered and the local community has an additional source of income.</div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-55197537780255592072012-12-29T15:50:00.001-08:002012-12-29T15:50:39.371-08:00Exploring Volta Region<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Janna and I are on Christmas break between December 16, 2012 and January 9, 2013. Given the length of time we decided to do some exploring as we have been mostly just in Accra since arriving outside of our one trip to the Cape Coast region. We decided to explore Ghana's easternmost region (which is actually east of the region actually called Eastern region). Volta is home to a major tribe called the Ewe whereas much of the rest of Southern Ghana is peopled by Ashanti tribes, more on them in a future post. The Ewe people were, as is so common in former European colonies, split apart by colonial borders and many Ewes are found in neighbouring Togo. During the late 19th century European scramble to establish colonies in Africa the British and French were taken by surprise when latecomer colanizer Germany signed a treaty with the paramount chief (king) based in present day Benin creating the protectorate of German Togoland. This colony only was the hands of the Germans for about 34 years before the League of Nations (the often ineffectual World War 1 predecessor to the United Nations) split the colony between England and France as victor's spoils. The westerly section became known as British Togoland eventually merging with the British Gold Coast colony, both eventually becoming part of modern day Ghana. Volta region lies to the west of the Togolese border and to the east of Ghana's Lake Volta, the world's largest man made lake. It is a beautiful, hilly waterfall full area that is a must see if one has the time when in Ghana. Janna and I began our journey by heading from Accra to Hohoe. We stayed in Taste Lodge for 40 cedi a night for 2 nights. The food was simple but good and the hot water buckets available upon request, when used with the unheated showers made for a pleasant experience (we have no hot water at home in Accra, and often no water at all). On the first full day in Hohoe we hiked the nearby Wli falls. There is a low falls hike (relatively easy) and a high falls hike (strenuous and sweaty!). We did both, the views were amazing, the tropical vegetation luxurious, and the waterfall was spectacular. It is the tallest in West Africa but is quite thin being approximately 6 m wide. We swam in the pool at the base of the lower falls. The water was refreshing and the extreme vertical fall of the water created a surprisingly strong wind/spray blowing out instantly cooling our overheated bodies. The waterfall cliffs were covered on either side with large, golden fruit bats which are sacred in this are. The fruit bats in Ghana are harmless, while still being alarmingly large. They have bodies the size of a good sized squirrel and a wingspan of about 2 feet. Just outside the entrance to the waterfall hike is a delightful German owned place called Waterfall Lodge. The view is amazing and the food is good. We did not stay there but rooms were 32 cedi. Late in the afternoon we returned happy but a little tired to Hohoe.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">From Hohoe we headed to Mountain Paradise Lodge near Fume. While we did not visit on this trip there a two shrines to the Virgin Mary nearby. At one of the grottos some children a few years ago reported to the local Catholic priest that the statue's solid, carved robes were blowing miraculously in the wind. The local priest interpreted that the robes in their fluttering were pointing towards a local palm tree. From this it was assumed the tree had healing/blessing properties and it was not long before the tree had been so carved up for relics that iit died. Also nearby is a second interesting Virgin Mary shrine. This religious retreat/contemplative centre is called the Blues of Ur. Ur is the ancient city in present day Iraq, formerly ancient Mesopotamia where Abraham, the father of Judeo-Christianity-Islam was from, at least 1500 years before the Virgin Mary was born. Blues refers to followers of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism, for instance a group of Virgin Mary focused Catholics in Canada has the name the Blue Army. This contemplative centre has an interesting start, supposedly a local Ghanaian Catholic saw a blue star flying above the jungle and followed to where it landed on top of a cliff. It was at this point the centre was founded. Definitely not something I expected to find in Ghana, especially in a remote area!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">Janna and I for exercise (and for budget :)) decided to walk the 2 km from town to the lodge. This may have been a better idea in theory then practice as it ended up being a very steep 4 km walk under a blazing sun with no shade, along a road under construction. Just to paint a picture, when you see the words "road under construction" in Ghana picture a strip of land seemingly purpose built for one thing and one thing alone, the production of dust that covers everything in sight, especially and insidiously the dust infiltrates your clothing, hair, nose and throat. It is this type of road we walked up all while large construction trucks and vehicles drove periodically past. To be continued...</span>Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-10313562069065372622012-12-29T15:40:00.000-08:002012-12-29T15:41:03.395-08:00WUSC, Gender Equity and Corporal Punishment<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">An important part of WUSC's and the Uniterra program's mandate is to work for equity for women. Studies and field experience have shown that improving the conditions of women which is necessary from a rights based approach also has a multiplier effect on development. Part of every Uniterra volunteer's mandate is to work on gender equity and development. While my primary mandate is to strengthen the NGO I am placed with my gender component is focused on reducing violence against girls especially in schools. Studies show that the threat of violence is one of the barriers to increasing the number ofi girls in school as well as the quality of their educational outcomes. I have been working with my GNECC colleagues on a multi-year project that has focused on various forms of violence particularly sexual violence against girls. The current phase is focusing on alternatives to corporal punishment. Physical (and also mental and emotional) punishment/abuse is common and culturally accepted by many. Over 95% of both boys and girls report having experienced corporal punishment. It occurs in the home, in the community and in school. There is no law against corporal punishment in Ghana though there are laws against both physical and sexual assault. Corporal punishment of children though is not considered assault unless it passes an undefined line of excessiveness. In the school setting one the most common techniques is to beat children using a cane. GNECC in partnership with Action Aid</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">, UNICEF and the Ghana Education Service developed a Teacher's Code of Conduct which was in theory enshrined as an official human resources policy. This code forbid the use of corporal punishment by teachers with progressive discplinary outcomes for teachers up to and including dismissal and reporting to the police. Despite this code though corporal punishment continues. This is a classic case of implementing a regulation where there is not yet cultural acceptance. In multiple conservation I have had with teachers, NGO staff and even students I have been told that corporal punishment is a necessary disciplinary tool. One teacher told me, after asking if teachers in Canada practice corporal punishment, and I said no,that what I did not understand is that children in Ghana are so much more misbehaved than in Canada that caning is necessary. I assured him that while I had limited experience obseving Ghanaian children from what I had seen they were extremely well behaved. Children in school, and in Ghana as a whole fit in a hierarchy that values elders, adults and men. Classrooms often resemble those in old British movies where everyone sits up straight, calls teacher by madam or sir and repeats back desired responses in rote unison. I asked what are examples of misbehaviour and the examples given to me all focused on failing to satisfactorily complete homework. Contextually this is important as there are so many reasons that may impact the completion of homework.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">These can include improper nutrition, illiteracy, chores such as fetching water or farming, jobs to supplement the family income or learning disabilities. The reasons behind failure to adequately complete homework are not investigated. Instead the teacher sees their role as to correct the misbehaviour through caning or other methods. We visited three schools to discuss punishment with the students. We excluded the teachers so the students would feel freer to speak. First we asked them what punishments they were familiar with. Examples included caning, hitting, kneeling on hard floors, weeding, garbage picking, digging of holes and then filling them in again, standing outside without being allowed to move under the hot sun, washing the teacher's car and working during school time on the teacher's farm amongst many others. Some punishments also included various exclusions from the classroom. We then asked the children what they thought of these punishments. By far the majority wished for alternative, more positive methods to be used. Many students felt that it was important for teachers to take the time to understand what barriers were preventing the completion of homework. Also interesting was the near unanimous condemnation of caning and also punishments that excluded students from class. Some even questioned if punishment was necessary at all as there could be more positive, reinforcing techniques that could be used. The thoughtfulness, engagement and commitment to learning </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">so refreshing and exciting to see especially given that these students are immersed in an adult culture that insisted that techniques such as caning are indispensable. GNECC will be using the testimony of these children in an upcoming advocacy campaign focusing on positive alternatives to punishment. By providing parents and teachers with positive, proven successful techniques at bringing the best out of students we hope to begin to get teachers to buy in to these changes. We are working with some great Ghanaian educators who have used these techniques resulting in improved outcomes and a more positive experience for everyone. By removing the use of violence in school, the lesson that violence is a way to solve problems is removed leading to a less violent, more positive future.</span>Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-76007345362504214552012-12-29T15:37:00.003-08:002012-12-29T15:37:55.842-08:00Sorry for the break, blame the Masters!<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">I have been away from the blog for a few weeks as I have been wrapped up in both work and schoolwork. The course I have been taking has been towards completion of my Masters. As many of you know when Janna and I returned from living in Malawi in 2009 we decided to start Masters degrees part-time. We wanted a flexible option so we decided to take our degrees by distance education via Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada. Both of us are pursuing degrees in Integrated Studies which pursues an interdisciplinary social science approach. The idea is that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">the narrow disciplinary focus common in university is not necessarily the best approach to tackle today's complex problems. In the public policy world these are often called wicked problems, examples include tackling poverty, climate change, and international governance</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">. These are problems that have so many layers, factors and players that it is necessary to have a broad understanding of a lot of disciplines as opposed to a narrow but expert understanding of one discipline. We each have areas of focus though. Janna's is equity studies and also community development. My area of focus is global change, basically a study of globalization, it's effects and ways to effect a positive, equitable future. The course that has been absorbing all of my non-work time for the last few weeks has had the very broad topic of What is Globalization? I was late getting started with the course as it officially started in the beginning of September while I was trying to wrap up my Ministry of Labour work and get ready for our move overseas. Then I took a few weeks getting settled here in Ghana. I had to write 3 papers. One on what globalization is, one on how power is practiced in our networked society and one examining the recent resolution of the longest trade dispute in the history of the World Trade Organization dealing with bananas. It is nice to be done as interesting as the course has been just in time for the Christmas break. More on our travels during the break soon.</span>Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-53188358679742285702012-11-29T07:53:00.001-08:002012-11-30T02:56:24.898-08:00A Day in Accra, Ghana (Tuesday, November 27, 2012)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tro-Tro (beaten up minibus made out of an old van) for 4 km
trip moving slower than the walkers streaming past us avoiding the traffic
nightmare that is Accra, $0.25.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Workshop on inclusive education and students with special
needs. Committed, passionate civil society members and civil servants.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Workshop starts at 10. Agenda says firm start at 9.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Indignantly insisting on being the meeting note taker after
a female participant asked me to especially after she was scolded by a male
colleague who told her that you don’t delegate work upwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ghanaian art gallery with amazing paintings and sculptures.
Beautiful pots as low as $10.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Delicious skewers of sausage (thick hot dog would be a
better description) from a charcoal brazier sitting beside an open air bar
while enjoying a cold beer with Janna. Sausage, $0.75, 1 litre of beer, $2.50.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First place at pub quiz.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Taxi home without seatbelts for 5 km, $3.00.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A man wrestling on the edge of the road with a fully clothed
man, wearing nothing but his underwear late at night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bouquet of raw sewage wafting up from the open trenches
running along every road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buying eggs and freezies of frozen strawberry yoghurt called
Fan-Go from a shop built inside a shipping container. Eggs, $0.17 each, Fan-Go,
$0.50. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TV show via the wonders of online streaming.</span></div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-7110157371714120452012-11-21T14:24:00.003-08:002012-11-21T14:24:47.571-08:00Views of GNECCViews of the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) where I work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4jJEtg3SMRW1CfLDm3hcMezUDhKOzeV8y2nO12qwRM4hma3YCyHp3aj1unDL6Z4xuFl7y8SgqPLugKtbg_HIoYGqBcLR6RYt_Q9aUBwEW373ShpXcYuqnGSe4uwhzgwMdJo5tpUvrr2H/s1600/Boundary+Road+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4jJEtg3SMRW1CfLDm3hcMezUDhKOzeV8y2nO12qwRM4hma3YCyHp3aj1unDL6Z4xuFl7y8SgqPLugKtbg_HIoYGqBcLR6RYt_Q9aUBwEW373ShpXcYuqnGSe4uwhzgwMdJo5tpUvrr2H/s1600/Boundary+Road+1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Boundary Road, the street my office is on looking South</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTreOftJVVrDyWnLvfQ1Rk1Ki84ZbeBvzY27LktxR5nX7GTkkp8Z6GJEOfvd5vDMlPfcvubdX3adO5wpajpUaAtzIw8qSOVmptsAqgmlGxyuKKdo-X5huWbgvEEHLYhHkyRt4ju0A9OB_9/s1600/Boundary+Road+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTreOftJVVrDyWnLvfQ1Rk1Ki84ZbeBvzY27LktxR5nX7GTkkp8Z6GJEOfvd5vDMlPfcvubdX3adO5wpajpUaAtzIw8qSOVmptsAqgmlGxyuKKdo-X5huWbgvEEHLYhHkyRt4ju0A9OB_9/s1600/Boundary+Road+2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Boundary Road, the street my office is on looking North towards my office</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hzmQL2bKSnCfmivpfGj3QZKY5xF2g3e7L1ovenHTkjF2JjmNL_NYcUn9Ey8g0CUSujhEJq_fPGnek6ejmneQ4oXNFm7ml7SE32UBF8P4NjlXyzECiAUGHhta3JSRYi841o_shku1TV6K/s1600/Outside+GNECC+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hzmQL2bKSnCfmivpfGj3QZKY5xF2g3e7L1ovenHTkjF2JjmNL_NYcUn9Ey8g0CUSujhEJq_fPGnek6ejmneQ4oXNFm7ml7SE32UBF8P4NjlXyzECiAUGHhta3JSRYi841o_shku1TV6K/s1600/Outside+GNECC+1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The outside wall of GNECC</div>
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GNECC's gate</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinriB9MWprBJB6Oar_NtU2rTYxl7JSQy85vnFWEiNrwm9QZun8fA6UbvnQ_bIQaG8bRUvMoWmQ4ExjQ4yYogFgj82K-c6rjMHFC-cyfkWEc1pV4ArLls97Aip6w7k4x1ngv9ot0I8urgex/s1600/GNECC+Office.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinriB9MWprBJB6Oar_NtU2rTYxl7JSQy85vnFWEiNrwm9QZun8fA6UbvnQ_bIQaG8bRUvMoWmQ4ExjQ4yYogFgj82K-c6rjMHFC-cyfkWEc1pV4ArLls97Aip6w7k4x1ngv9ot0I8urgex/s1600/GNECC+Office.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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GNECC, yes my office is in a house. My office is attached to the garage on the left under the outside stairway you can see</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHB9X90dLa-_mpdTrz0LwLdzK-t4IjDQHVRiiAkgsEazGXtchVZ4JFpZ4rLsXR7eT3Lk2QDbluBeQxKDx6CiXI9jHTNhNWVPjz106-y77zrtZ2LP4kLAZmBG1aQupZ130hwHLvuzWMBf0i/s1600/My+humble+desk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHB9X90dLa-_mpdTrz0LwLdzK-t4IjDQHVRiiAkgsEazGXtchVZ4JFpZ4rLsXR7eT3Lk2QDbluBeQxKDx6CiXI9jHTNhNWVPjz106-y77zrtZ2LP4kLAZmBG1aQupZ130hwHLvuzWMBf0i/s1600/My+humble+desk.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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My humble desk</div>
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Posters on the walls of GNECC</div>
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Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-54218081738266409112012-11-21T14:06:00.001-08:002012-11-29T08:13:27.510-08:00Sighted in AccraI thought that I would post some pictures to give a visual dimension to Accra where Janna and I are living.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlyGpBLInHk2RWRDzGDTBfnX7VGnym7cpL1UjWxw1GXYYhTPjVTezh5kPURZpU9Uj632MOfeml4bnituRqE7vri7qfOsErvk2lVsTiEUgypThKo-BfgiFpxJOiMQ3MKQaatUEpe84TA-Y/s1600/Any+God+Beside+Allah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlyGpBLInHk2RWRDzGDTBfnX7VGnym7cpL1UjWxw1GXYYhTPjVTezh5kPURZpU9Uj632MOfeml4bnituRqE7vri7qfOsErvk2lVsTiEUgypThKo-BfgiFpxJOiMQ3MKQaatUEpe84TA-Y/s1600/Any+God+Beside+Allah.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Religious signage is very common, even when the product is not religious. Here is the local auto parts shop</div>
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Chickens are everywhere, kind of like pigeons in Toronto</div>
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In case you wondered where Obama eats fried chicken in Ghana, it is only 650 m from my work</div>
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Note that each small black dot in the sky is actually a large bat.</div>
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One of my local variety stores</div>
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For my Ministry of Labour colleagues, inspection time? </div>
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Just in case you were looking for Einstein college it is here in Ghana</div>
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Lord's Triumph is you place for coolers</div>
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Walls are not the most welcoming things to climb over here, this one sports razor wire beside spikes</div>
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And in case razor wire just doesn't quite do the job, this one has electrified their razor wire. Gives a new meaning to thoughts of hopping fences</div>
Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7732541028555641683.post-86739459188359685042012-11-06T03:57:00.002-08:002012-11-06T03:57:24.511-08:00First Road Trip
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Janna and I had our first trip together outside of Greater
Accra over the October 26-28, 2012 long weekend here in Ghana. We spent the
first night at a nice place on the beach just east of a town called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmina">Elmina</a>. On the Saturday we
toured two towns, Elmina, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Coast">Cape
Coast</a>, which was my first exposure to some of the colonial history here in
Ghana. Cape Coast was the capital of Ghana until the capital was moved to Accra
in 1877.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both towns have varied
histories passing between the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Swedes, and the
British.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is a view of Elmina.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Ghana_Elmina_City_Panorama.jpg">Elmina
Panoramic View</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And here is a view of Cape Coast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Cape_Coast_downtown.JPG">Cape
Coast Panoramic View</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I will write more about these two towns in a future post
especially their role in the transatlantic slave trade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the Sunday Janna and I visited our first Ghanaian
National Park, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakum_National_Park">Kakum</a>.
It is a beautiful remnant of the once extensive rainforest that could be found
along the coastline here in Ghana. Our guide was great, explaining many of the
botanical specimens we could see in the forest giving us an ethnobiological
insight into how the trees fit into the Ashanti culture. We learnt about
medicinal properties, uses for the different woods and even how on one type of
tree you could bang on their buttresses in order to communicate over long
distances via the booming sound that would result. The highlight of the visit
though was the canopy walk which is a series of rope bridges that allows you to
access the top of the rainforest canopy, at times greater than 40 m in the air.
I loved it and could have spent hours up there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Below is a video (not taken by me, you can find everything
on YouTube) that can give you a taste of the bridges. Janna did really well on
the bridges considering heights aren’t really her thing. I am really glad that
we got to experience the rainforest especially as I have to date been immersed
in the hectic urbanness of Accra.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAYnivamaJ4">Kakum
National Park Canopy Walk</a></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Jules Arntz-Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16292496646882944887noreply@blogger.com0