Growing Trend

There is a marked increase in the number of pilgrims seeking peace by going to visit religious sites so reports Mary Jordan, Washington Post Foreign Service.

Todd M. Johnson, of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, says 7 percent (150 million people) of the world's Christians go on pilgrimages each year. She says 2.1 million people went to Mecca in December 2006 and an estimated 70 million Hindus went to the Ganges River, India in January and February alone for spiritual cleansing.

Is this an internet boom or a population explosion?

Find what you love

Steve Jobs wearing jeans and sandals under his black robe at his commencement address at Stanford University challenged the graduating class with three stories from his life.

The first "Connecting the Dots" was about his experience at getting a good quality education. His biological mother was an unwed graduate student who wanted him to go to college. Although she chose a lawyer's family to adopt him, they declined hoping to adopt a daughter. He was later adopted by a working-class couple — neither of whom had college degrees but pledged to send him to college. He said that although he started off in a top class school, he later found that it was not what he was looking for. He found that he was learning things he had no desire to understand. At seventeen he could not see the value in a good quality education at the cost of a heavy financial burden on his middleclass working parents. So after dropping out he decided to drop in to take the courses he really was interested in. His drop ins at Reed College calligraphy classes helped in developing beautiful typography in PCs when he designed the Mac 10 years later.

The second story was about love and loss. Having found what he loved to do, Steve decided to start a company with his friend Steve Wozniak when he was twenty years old. Apple grew from just the two of them in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. A year after he released the greatest PC on earth, the Macintosh, he was fired from his job. The company he created slipped from his grasp into the hands of people he hired to run it for him. Picking up the pieces of his now broken life he started to wonder where or what he would do next. He felt he was going through a phase of public humiliation. Yet he persevered and decided to pursue his beloved profession. Despite the rejection, he was convinced of his love for his job and this prompted him to enter into one of the most creative periods of his life. In the next five years he started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, got married, and started a family. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer-animated feature film, "Toy Story," and today is regarded as the most successful animation studio in the world. He learned that at times life hits you with a brick, but you should never lose faith. Be in love with what you do, and believe that it is great work.

The third story is about death. When he was 17 he read a quote that went something like "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." When he was fifty he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer. He was asked to say his goodbyes to friends and family. This had a lasting impression on his life. The thought of death made him value his life even more. He realised that every moment of his life was precious. He said, "Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart, and intuition." On further investigation the doctors diagnosed it to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. He ended his speech saying "stay hungry and stay foolish." Pursue your goals with an ardent desire to fulfill your deepest longing to do what you love doing.

The World is Flat

A Newyork Times award winning editor Thomas L. Friedman writes about the new revolution that is changing the face of business today. He asks the pertinent question, "Where were you when the world went flat?" The internet is a powerful channel to bring the world to your door step. In his latest book, The World is Flat, Friedman describes how Xrays of someone in the USA can be read by a radiologist in India, or your travel agent could be someones grand mother sitting at home in a bath robe.

He goes on to explain that the lowering of the trade and political barriers and the fast paced internet revolution has enabled this transformation in the global business environment. The communication lines between people all across the globe have become so cheap that he says

” Today, “individuals and small groups of every color of the rainbow will be able to plug and play.”

He ends his book with a story about Abraham George who started Shanthi Bhavan. A school started for very poor untouchable children of India, who are given a good quality education. George believes that when these children receive a world class education they can aspire for careers that they would never have imagined if they remained in their poor living conditions. The world today needs more people who use their imagination to have a vision for the positive growth for the world, who will bring about the stability that the world needs.

Friedman says that those who live with bad memories of exploitation and terrorism will be those who will continue to imagine ways to unleash their anger. He makes us ponder why some peoples life's path makes them to strive for the joy of destruction, while others journey through the path that leads them through the joy of creation. He says we need people who wake up every morning with new ideas, and are willing to use their imagination to make this a better world.

World's Greatest Investor for Good

Warren Buffett, the world's most admired investor and second richest man, plans to donate 85 per cent ($44 billion) of his wealth to charity. More than 83 per cent of Buffett's stock of Berkshire Hathway will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is already worth about $30 billion. This foundation gives grant for medical research and education. Warren Buffett is convinced that Bill Gates will be able to disperse it better than anybody else in the world. Bill hopes to eliminate 20 of the top diseases in the world today and better the system of education. Melinda Gates looks towards finding a vacine for the AIDS virus.

The two simple values on which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is based upon are

* All lives—no matter where they are being led—have equal value.

* To whom much has been given, much is expected.


This is probably the largest donation by an individual that has been made in recent years. His astute understanding of this world and the needs of the people has prompted him to make this very generous donation. His magnamity is being well received all over the world. In a world that is being torn apart by wars and rumours of wars it is great to see the impact of the lives of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

An extract from Wikipedia on the life that Warren Buffett leads.

"Despite his immense wealth, Buffett is famous for his unpretentious and frugal lifestyle. He continues to live in the same house in Omaha he bought in 1958 for $31,500, although he also owns a summer house in Laguna Beach, California. His annual salary from Berkshire Hathaway of $100,000 is nominal by the standards of senior executive remuneration in the United States."

Microfinance

2005 was declared as the year of Microcredit by the UN. Loans as small as $100 can foster growth for a small business which in turn provides financial support for the their families, and growth in their local economies.

The growing need for Microfinance has brought many organizations forward as a means to fight poverty and hunger. It has changed the lives of many people and enabled them to lead better lives. This is not in any way to be considered as charity but a vehicle to free the chains of poverty and unemployment from those of low income households. The World Bank have been working with a variety of financial institutions, worldwide, to make lending to the poor profitable and find ways for poor self-employed to repay their loans and find savings opportunities.

World Cup fever exposes countries with poor infrastructure

In Bangladesh soccer fans are not happy after multiple power failures. Protesters wielding bamboo sticks attacked an electricity office for the power failures.

In Ghana the gold mines have been told to shut down power consumption during matches, as televisions suck up a lot of power.

The need for better infrastructure is a world wide problem. Even in India if the power fails during cricket matches or big TV sitcoms, the electricity department has to bear the brunt of the angry mobs.

Miles to go…..

We can be reasonably optimistic about the car boom in India. The Indian middle class has grown to 250 million in the past decade or so. We are finally beginning to see descent roads in India. If 10 % of consumer base steps in to buy cars we will see healthy growth in the motor vehicle industry. Indian value systems are changing to more individualism and nuclear families. However according to NY Times today there are only eight million passenger vehicles on Indian roads, in a country of more than one billion people. By the late 1920’s, in comparison, the United States had 23 million registered car owners.

How soon can Chennai beat Detroit??

The American Big Three in Detroit are working hard to get their stake back with Toyota and other manufacturers who have started eating into the US markets. They are making strategic plans to improve the quality and attractiveness and to overcome their increased burdens on pension and health-care costs that increase their manufacturing cost to $1,200 per vehicle. Are the prophetic words of Preston Tucker finally coming true??

Clean Drinking Water

The need for clean water is staggering. A visit to any one of the poor villages where people live in extreme poverty is an amazing revelation to the dire need for change in the sources for drinking water. It is good that UN and World Bank and other international bodies are working hard to bridge the the gap.

According to Dr. Gleick more than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion are without access to adequate sanitation. One of the goals of United Nations is to reduce this proportion by half for people without access to water supply and sanitation by 2015. Dr. G has his doubts that these goals will be met. Especially for sanitation. He estimates that even if they are met an estimated 35 million to 75 million people will still die in the next 20 years (2000-2020) due to preventable water-related diseases.


Naandi Foundation in India is one such organization that is stepping up to address the need in India. They say dirty drinking water causes the death for roughly 200 children per hour below age 5. For those living in extreme poverty below a dollar a day average income the following modes are not affordable such as centralized treatment, piped water systems, bottled water, or fuel to boil drinking water. Naandi is run by Dr. Anji Reddy - Founder Naandi Foundation and The founder-Chairman of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Manoj Kumar - CEO Naandi Foundation former Robert McNamara Fellow of The World Bank.

Evangelical Hospital, Khariar

Evangelical Hospital, Khariar is a mission hospital located in Nuapada District, Orissa, India. A member of the Christian Medical Association of India, and affiliated with the Church of North India and Global Ministries in the United States, the hospital has been serving the poor of Orissa since 1930. The population of Khariar town is 18,000 approximately. It is located in the district of Nuapada and the population served by the hospital is about 200,000 people.

The hospital was founded by the late Rev. Herman and Marie Feierabend, a trained nurse, funded by the United Church of Christ. Today the hospital is managed by Dr. Ajith Singh and his wife Dr.Pushpa Singh. They have been serving this hospital for many decades. Their commitment to the hospital and their love for the people of the region has been unquestionable.

The patients are very poor, earning less then Rs.10.00 a day (U.S. $0.30). No patient is refused treatment for lack of money or space. The philosophy of the hospital is to provide the best medical care to the poorest of the poor even in this most backward area. In the Khariar region almost 80% of the total population is illiterate and more than 90% of women can not read or write.


In a recent news release by the Global Ministries, it states that the Khariar Hospital served a total of 2780 inpatients last year as well as 19,058 outpatients. A total of 1380 surgeries were performed, of which 164 were eye surgeries.

The greatest needs for the continued improvement of the services at the Hospital include: staff, including a Physiotherapist, a B.Sc. Nurse, and pharmacy assistants; facility improvements including a complete renovation of the Hospital with replacement of most of the basic equipment, improvements to staff housing and construction of a chapel; addition of a guest room/conference facility; and equipment including an auto analyzer, a C.T. Scanner, a Coulter Counter, an Olympus Gastrointestinal Fiberscope, a Digital Display 400, Surgical Diathermy, a C-Arm Image Intensifier, a radiology department, and computerization of all records from the medical departments, laboratory and pharmacy.



Contact Khariar Hospital.

Orissa

The people of the state of Orissa in India are simple and unpretentious. The state has some breathtaking beaches, fine lakes , thick natural forests with wildlife. The forests of Sunabeda-Khariar is Habitat for Tigers. This Sanctuary has long term conservation potential and has shown a healthy increase in tiger numbers since 1995. The forests are also inhabited by extremely rare wild buffalo. The Bubalus bubalis who are on the verge of extinction . They enter Orissa from the Udanti and Sitanadi forests in Chattisgarh. Given that this species is in central India, protecting Sunabeda is of vital national importance.The Sun Temple in Konark is one of the well known tourist attractions of Orissa. The temple was built in 1278 AD by King Narasimha Deva. It is one of Indias grandest temples. Orissa is famous for the the Kalinga war which was the first and last war of Emperor Ashoka where he himself declared that the conquest through dharma was the real conquest than the conquest through violence. The terrible killings and bloodshed in the war caused Emperor Ashoka to convert to Buddhism. Orissa also boasts of many important sites for Buddhism such as Lalitagiri, Udayagiri, Ratnagiri and Ranipur Jharial. Recently in the news 10 Buddhist stupas and inscriptions indicating Lord Buddha's visit. to the Kalinga have been found in archaeological excavations in Jaipur district in Orissa. Emperor Ashoka built the 10 stupas in the Kalinga. Some of the atrocities in the news in the region has been due to the Graham Staines Murder Case and Child torture case.

Thirst for Change

Jack Welsh in his book winning, says if you want reform the people have to want change as well. He sees this in the people of China.

It is this desire for change that will bring about reform. India has a very complicated population mix... reform is a big challenge.

What holds back reform in India?

Refugees

Tens of millions of people live as refugees all around the globe - they have been driven from their native soils due to wars, persecution, famine, disease, political instability,natural disasters and other manmade catostrophies. They leave their homes ussually at a moments notice with hardly any personal possessions. They are left to the mercy of people and places they flee to.

The following is a new listing by the World Fact Book on the refugees and internally displaced persons (last updated on 1 November, 2005).

Field Listing - Refugees and internally displaced persons

Their stay away from their countries or cities sometimes may take years before they can return. Some just learn to adapt to their new surroundings and settle down in their new homes. But there are some who eagerly long to get back to their homes, but fear that they will not be able to until the situation improves. The pain and anguish of staying away from their homes which have been a part of them for generations becomes a very hard feeling to grapple with.



The human rights goals of Amnesty International for the dignified treatment of refugees are:-

Promote the Right to Seek Asylum
Prevent Arbitrary Detention of Asylum Seekers
Stop Forced Return of Refugees
Provide Protection to Especially Vulnerable Groups
Support Asylum Seekers with Human Rights Information
Advocate for Humane Treatment of Refugees and Migrants

Developed Vs Developing Countries Aid
It has been found that the developed nations contribute the most for refugee rehabilitation efforts the hosting of the refugees are in the developing countries. Those countries with less than $2,000 per capita host more than two-thirds of all refugees.Countries with more than $10,000 host five percent of the world's refugees. In some of these host countries the refugees form a large chunk of their population.

Internally Displaced
It should be noted that sometimes refugees are classified as internally displaced. However these people also grapple with similar issues as the refugees.

Christian Organizations

Church World Services says there are nearly 33 million people all over the world who are forced to leave their homes persecution and armed conflict. They help nearly 8000 refugees and entrants into the USA.

PCUSA in Washington estimates of the approximately 37,500,000 refugees and internally displaced persons half of them are children. In last decade more than 2 million children died during the war, 4 million survived with physical mutilation, and 1 million children have been orphaned. The war sees the darker side of men's nature, where soldiers destroy or steal food supplies for refugees. Many of the young girls are forced to work as cooks, spies or sexual slaves for soldiers. They are even raped as part of their strategy for war.

Since 1940, UMCOR's mission - providing relief in disaster areas, aiding refugees and confronting the challenge of world hunger and poverty - has helped to heal the hurts of humanity in nearly 100 countries. GBCS says we live in a world where there are over 13 million people who are refugees, another 26 million who are internally displaced, and millions more who seek asylum or are migrants looking to find a way out of poverty.


The following are some of the issues they face as refugees :-


Starvation


U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday some 65,000 Togo refugees will run out of food by the end of the year unless the international community quickly comes up with $1 million in aid.

Persecution by military
There are about 140,000 refugees living in camps strewn along the Thai Burma border. 100,000 of that number are Karen, the others belong to other ethnic groups such as the Karenni, Shan, Mon, and Naga - who have all been driven out of their traditional homelands by Burmese military.

Abduction of Young and training for war

Refugees are unable to return to their homes, yet their young are abducted by the terrorists for training for war. Landmines make large areas of land uninhabitable. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines has estimated that an individual is killed or injured by a land mine every 22 minutes, 500 per week, 26,000 per year around the world.

Genocide
2.5m displaced Darfuris too frightened to go home - 3.5m in need of food - Darfur sliding into chaos

Thirst for Home - Home is where the heart is !!!
An estimated 700,000 refugees have returned to Somaliland, a place where nearly half the population lives on less than US$1 a day. Returnees are in an even worse situation; one year after their return, 90 percent do not have a regular source of income. They left because of the civil war.

Poor waste management and sanitation in Rwanda due to small areas for living

These issues can be resolved only through education.

Education

Refugees often lack basic skills and knowledge in literacy, agriculture and health. Education is an excellent tool for protection and for promoting tolerance, peace and conflict resolution.


Dependency on Aid

Two decades after the killing fields the people living in refugee camps in Cambodia found themselves dependent on aid. So one of the tasks of NGO's is to help them break this dependency cycle.


Environmental Refugees
Scholars today are predicting that 50 million people worldwide will be displaced by 2010 because of rising sea levels, desertification, dried up aquifers, weather-induced flooding and other serious environmental changes.

Tulane Facing Pivotal Period

Scott Cowen, President of Tulane University's Talk on The Future of Our University
Tulane facing pivotal period
Student and faculty retention are keys

Good Morning:

In last week's Tulane Talk I mentioned that the Board of Administrators
and the university's senior administrative leadership were having
extensive conversations about the university's future in light of
Hurricane Katrina. These conversations have either already included or
will include a number of external advisors from such institutions as
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan, Rice and Princeton. In
addition, I have consulted on a regular basis with members of the
President's Faculty Advisory Committee, an elected body of the
University Senate.

All of these groups are providing wise counsel about how Tulane
University should chart its future. In thinking about the future we are
guided by the desire to maintain the university's exceptional academic
quality and to continue as a major research and graduate-level
university focused on areas where we have demonstrated or are on the
cusp of demonstrating world-class excellence.

We will continue to be a university committed to academic excellence
while also ensuring the university's long-term financial viability.
These dual commitments will require us to make some difficult decisions
in the months ahead, but the result will be a stronger, vibrant and more
focused university prepared for the extraordinary challenges of the 21st
century.

The discussions thus far give me confidence that Tulane University will
increasingly be defined in the future by its:

* World-class excellence in education and research
* A distinct relationship with the culturally rich and diverse city
of New Orleans, home to one of the world's great waterways and a
gateway to the Americas
* Historical strengths and the ability to learn and recover from the
worst natural disaster in the history of the U.S. in ways that
will ultimately benefit the Tulane community, the city of New
Orleans and other communities in the U.S. and around the world


The center of the renewed Tulane should be an exceptional undergraduate
program dedicated to the development of students both as scholars and
socially responsible citizens. This center should be strengthened and
surrounded by a limited number of graduate, professional and research
programs, which demonstrate the defining characteristics mentioned above.

We also have an unusual opportunity to shape many of our programs by the
university's direct experience with such a large-scale natural disaster.

This experience should provide faculty, staff and students with unique
research, learning and community service opportunities that will have a
lasting and profound impact on them, New Orleans, the region and
communities around the world.

In the coming weeks the Board and I will continue to address our renewal
strategy drawing on our external advisors and the President's Faculty
Advisory Committee. I will keep you posted of our progress. In the
meantime, please click on the link below to read an article on Tulane's
recovery that ran on the front page of Monday's Times-Picayune
Tulane facing pivotal period
Student and faculty retention are keys
Scott

New Orleans Struggling

New Orleans is certainly going to take a long time before it returns to normal. The down town business district area will probably come up first. The city functions largely on tourist revenue. So I am sure that will be their priority.

Many residents have not been able to return to their homes, because the electricity and water supply is still not restored. Many are still staying back in the places they fled to. It is a really sad story. They are unable to estimate the extent of damages and how to access the same. So it will take some time.

New Orleans Is Still Grappling With the Basics of Rebuilding - New York Times

Scott Cowen, the president of Tulane University said "It may take three to five years to really build the model city we all aspire for New Orleans to be."

Rubenstein Brothers, a clothing store on Canal Street for 81 years, opened to great fanfare last month, yet by midafternoon that day its clerks, well dressed and standing smartly at attention, had nothing to do.

Terrorists in Australia

Australian police have prevented a potentially catastrophic attack in Sydney and Melbourne.

Those arrested in Melbourne was a past admirer of Osama Bin Laden Abu Bakr a cleric and spiritual leader'

The terrorists are alleged to have had received military-style training in rural Australia. The group has gathered chemicals of a kind that were used in the London Underground bombings.

Australia sent troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. As of today no major terrorists have attacked on Australia.

Pastors dissatisfied with Prayer Life

In a sample of 860 Protestant church pastors.

16 % very satisfied with their personal prayer lives.
47 % somewhat satisfied
30 percent somewhat dissatisfied
7 percent very dissatisfied

Time spent in prayer averaged 40 minutes.


90 % of pastors prayed for

individual members needs
spiritual health
spiritual growth
wisdom in leading their church.

Factors that determined a satisfied pastor ;-

Average time of 40 minutes in prayer

Less time in requests and more listening to God's voice

spend time praying for "big issues" beyond their own lives and churches--overseas missions, persecuted Christians in other countries, local outreach and evangelism efforts, other local churches and pastors, global events

New Website for Pakistan emergency efforts

As Pakistan slowly moves to the brink of a second disaster. a new website has been launched to cordinate emrgency relief efforts for the millions of Pakistanis affected by the earthquake. It is called RISE Relief and Information Systems for Earthquakes This could be a huge milestone in bringing about the long term reconstruction of Pakistan.

This is a great means of communicating and cordinating the efforts of government, army, donors and NGOs working in the field. More than 4000 villages have been effected and close 80000 people have died.

World Vision says there are 3 million people sleeping in the open and 150000 people who have still to be reached by the Aid agencies. A second disaster in the making unless more is done – now

NATO has lifted over 1200 tons of supplies. These include thousands of tents, stoves and blankets necessary to protect the survivors from the cold.

In a recent UN Press release - Some of the challenges faced are - Approximately 30,000 square kilometres of high-altitude terrain, with many roads destroyed, and worsening weather conditions. Other infrastructure has also been severely damaged or destroyed, including hospitals, schools, and water and sanitation networks.

Shelter remains the overriding priority - current world stocks of tents will not meet needs. Thousands more winterized tents and blankets are required urgently. Local stocks in Pakistan have been exhausted, but production is being increased in other countries.

With 62,000 tents already delivered, around 200,000 tents will be in country by the start of the winter.

Genocide in Dafur

The worst humanitarian crisis at the start of the century has been recorde in Dafur. UN estimates that violence has affected nearly 1/3rd of Darfur’s residents. Analysis of the refugee interviews points to a pattern of abuse against members of Darfur’s non-Arab communities, including murder, rape, beatings, ethnic humiliation, and destruction of property and basic necessities. Humanitarian organizationsare being forced to withdraw all means of support to the residents still living in Dafur.

Illegal Business Practices

A Protestant minister, his wife and her brother have been sentenced to three years in prison for printing copies of the Bible and other Christian publications.

China jails three for illegally printing Bibles

"In atheist China, printing of Bibles and other religious publications need special approval from the State Bureau of Religious Affairs. Bibles cannot be openly bought at bookshops in a country long criticized overseas for intolerance of religion."

The Chinese are allowed to worship at official churches approved by the state. However they crack down on house churches and wayward relegious groups. China is a growing super power and yet the freedom of the people is limited to the edicts of the state. Is this practice for the best??

President Bush in a meeting with Dalai Lama said he would raise religious freedom as an issue when he meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

"I will continue to remind President Hu about, for example, my personal faith and the belief that people should be allowed to worship freely," he told a round table of Asian journalists on Tuesday. "And a vibrant, whole society is one that recognizes that certain freedoms are inherent and need to be part of a complete society."

Child Labor - Social Responsibility

"The International Labor Organization (ILO) has estimated that 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen work in developing countries-at least 120 million on a full time basis. Sixty-one percent of these are in Asia, 32 percent in Africa, and 7 percent in Latin America. Most working children in rural areas are found in agriculture; many children work as domestics; urban children work in trade and services, with fewer in manufacturing and construction."

Ref Child Labor


Some Wringers

1. The concept of social responsibility is it not something that evolves better with advances made in the economy of the country?

2. Is it not easier to regulate social responsibilty on manufacturing companies than it is to do them in agriculture or service industries?

3. Is this a concept that will only spread through out the world or only have its niche in a developed nation?

I would think in developed countries the consciousness is greater than in the lesser developed countries. Take the case of child labor which has a large chunk in Asia and Africa.