After watching Slumdog Millionaire..

The movie took place in India, In the SLUMS.
So it made me think about the poverty the country suffers.

Some of the main causes of poverty in India are high population growth, high illiteracy ( 35% adults), so obviously its hard to get jobs, you cant read or write you have no chance of getting a GOOD job. Social issues due to a caste system in politics. Technology isn't so great. Water isn't clean in the slums, so many people catch diseases due to water  issues.

JAPAN D: !!!!!

In Tokyo, Japan an earthquake that started in the ocean quickly became a tsunami.
Hundreds of people have been confirmed DEAD.
547 people MISSING.
Over 800 people injured, And these numbers are STILL rising.
People in Japan are now staying 24 hour motels, cafe's, shelters, and airports.
I hope everyone in Japan are doing okay, and will be relieved when this monster
of a tsunami is OVER.

short post l:

Im not going to bother with a lot of information today.

I just wanted to say a few things.

Poverty is a horrible thing this country and this world suffers with.

Why cant the greedy give money to those in need?

Yesterday I was told the city of Chicago used millions of dollars..

to do what? To renovate a hotel. Instead of using it on something important

we waste it on stupid things like hotels. We need to start changing the way money goes.

Make it go to something thats needs to be changed. Help the people of Chicago.

$$$

poverty & sex trafficking

We know that poverty drives us to do stupid stuff like prostitution, or sex trafficking. This means that each day hundreds of young, poor women and girls will turn to sex trafficking and prostitution as a means to provide for themselves, and for their families, because they have no other choice.

Sex trafficking is big business, second only to drug and gun trafficking throughout the world. The U.S. government estimates that criminals are making $9.5 billion a year from sex trafficking alone. Going after the criminals who exploit women and girls has been less than successful, as the trade has continued to grow. For sex trafficking to be stopped it requires two things: going after the criminals, and addressing the poverty issue that motivates sex trafficking in the first place.

"People often think that all sex traffickers kidnap their victims, but in many cases the children end up being pulled into the system by their own families because of extreme poverty. Sometimes the children leave home voluntarily because of abuse or other harmful conditions. Very often it's not organized criminals but close relatives or family friends who encourage girls in poverty-stricken families to seek work abroad as an 'au pair or waitress.' These acquaintances know full well that the girl will be put to work as a prostitute and that they will directly profit from the 'referral,' Furthermore, it's not uncommon for girls to know what they're entering into, and to enter voluntarily to some degree. Maybe they think they'll be different and able to escape, or maybe they'd rather take the risk than feel powerless staying at home in poverty."

          http://www.captivedaughters.org/gatesfoundation.htm

.~.

Just a few random facts about poverty I thought I'd share.

Fact : There is an estimated 110,000 homeless people in Chicago alone.

Fact : 10,642 homeless students were identified in Chicago Public Schools last school year, a 35% increase in just 5 years.

Fact : Over half a million full-time workers in the Chicago region do not have health insurance.

Fact : Chicago contains 10 of the nation’s 16 poorest neighborhoods.

Fact : The number of Americans on food stamps surpassed 41 million for the first time ever in June.

Fact : Nearly 10 million Americans now receive unemployment insurance, which is almost four times as many as in 2007.

Fact : One out of every five children in the United States is now living in poverty.

My sisters return :D

Vivian is finally back from Quito, Ecuador, All the way in South America.
Ecuador is a poor place, well depending on the area, so she told me some info like this :
" a lot of people are homeless, even kids, you see kids younger than ten taking care of babies,
selling you candy, or cigarettes at any price. Money is Money to them.
lots of stray animals. Its hard to find work, some kids dont even go to school, and there are a lot of drunks, they let you buy liqour at any age."

:o

Hunger, disease, and less or no education can describe a person in poverty.

One third of deaths, some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day, are due to poverty-related causes. In total 270 million people, most of them women and children, have died as a result of poverty since 1990, its 2011, the number of people dying each day from poverty-related causes have likely gotten a lot higher through out the years. Those living in poverty suffer from hunger or even starvation and disease.

Those in poverty also suffer from lower life expectancy, remember the children, research shows that nearly 11 million children die from poverty each year before their 5th birthday (world-wide).

Malaria ?!

Third World countries arent as "upgraded" with modern medicine like us in the United States so people are more likely to catch diseases and spread them like wild fire.

Take Malaria for example.

but, oh my gosh what's malaria ? 

Malaria is a disease of the blood that is transmitted to people by infected female mosquitoes. Malaria is very common throughout the world. In the United States, the main risk is to persons traveling to tropical and subtropical countries where malaria is a problem.

Malaria risk areas in AFRICA include: Botswana: northern part of the country; Namibia, South Africa: rural areas, north, east, and western low altitude areas of Transvaal, Natal coastal areas, Swaziland: lowland areas; Zimbabwe: a HIGH RISK exists throughout the year.

DID YOU KNOW ?

Worldwide, an estimated 200 million to 300 million malaria infections occur each year, with 2 million to 3 million deaths. About 1,200 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States each year. Most are in persons entering the country for the first time or returning from foreign travel. A very small number of cases are the result of direct transmission involving mosquitoes that live in the United States.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS/SYMPTOMS OF MALARIA ?!

People with malaria typically have cycles of chills, fever, and sweating that recur every 1, 2, or 3 days. The attack of the malaria parasites on the person's red blood cells makes the person's temperature rise and the person feel hot. The subsequent bursting of red blood cells makes the person feel cold and have hard, shaking chills. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea often go along with the fever. The destruction of red blood cells can also cause jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and anemia.

If your going to travel out of the country and randomley go to Africa for a safari or something :o !

Avoid mosquito bites, they feed at night, malaria transmission happens mainly between dusk and dawn. When outside: Wear long-sleeved clothing and long pants. For extra protection, treat clothing with the insecticide permethrin.

Use insect repellent on exposed skin.

When inside: Stay in well-screened areas as much as possible during the evening.

Spray living and sleeping areas with insecticide.

Use a bednet when sleeping in a room that is not screened or air conditioned. 

Off Topic

While sitting in class today, we watched a video called "Did You Know?".
It's making me realize that the jobs now will be gone when Its my turn to start working a full time job.
This is quite scary. Teachers and the rest of the education system are most likely teaching kids things they'll never use in there life time because it'll be so out dated. Preparing us for jobs that will be non existing, and preparing us to use technologies people don't even know about, but considering that the video "Did You Know?" was made in 2008, and its now 2011 I'm sure there are even bigger changes.

Poverty in Africa

The world is always talking about how poor Africa turns out to be, so I thought it'd be a good place to start a blog.
Major problems facing Africa today,
A child dies every ten minutes from AIDS and extreme poverty, often  before their fifth birthday. Every year six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday.
More than 50 percent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhea.
The people drink from the stream and the stream serves as water for all other purposes. The major problem is that the stream water is not purified and it contains so many germs and bacteria which cause so many diseases in villages.