Pray-Justin Bieber

This is a song that I heard before I even like Justin Bieber and the lyrics really moved me. Read them and if you want, go look at the song too.

Ooh ooh ooooh
Ooh ooh ooooh
Ooh ooh ooooh
And I pray

I just can't sleep tonight
Knowing that things ain't right
It's in the papers
It's on the t.v.
It's everywhere that I go
Children are cryin'
Soldiers are dyin'
Some people don't have a home

But I know there's sunshine beyond that rain
I know there's good times beyond that pain, hey
Can you tell me how I can make a change?

I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray

I lose my appetite
Knowing kids starve tonight
Am I a sinner, cause like like my dinner
Still there on my plate
Ooh, I got a vision to make a difference
And it's starting today
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/justin_bieber/pray.html ]
'Cause I know there's sunshine beyond that rain
I know there's good times beyond that pain, hey
Heaven, tell me how I can make a change?

I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and...

I pray for the brokenhearted
I pray for the life not started
I pray for all the ones not breathing
I pray for all the souls in need I pray
...
Can u give 'em one today?

I just can't sleep tonight...
Can someone tell me how to make a change?

I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and pray
I close my eyes and I can see a better day
I close my eyes and...

I PRAY
I PRAY
I PRAY...
I close my eyes and pray...

***Look at the song!!!***

Cya :P

~J

Organizations Stopping Poverty

IPA: Innovations for Poverty Action.
Innovations for Poverty Action is a nonprofit dedicated to discovering what works to help the world’s poor. Thy are led by researchers including some who hold positions at universities such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, and LSE. They have worked in places all over the world, like Latin America, Asia, Africa and USA.
Their mission: Fighting Poverty with Innovation, Evidence and Action.

Children's Defense Fund: A strong, effective, independent voice for all the children of America.
They are a non-profit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for over 35 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. Their vision is to end child poverty. They invest in high quality education for every child, livable wages for families, income safety nets like job training and job creation, the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits, and work supports like child care and health coverage. They also work with partners to educate families about benefits for which they are eligible.

Relief International: Saving Lives, Sustaining Livelihoods.
Relief International is a humanitarian non-profit agency that provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, development assistance, and program services to vulnerable communities worldwide. Relief International is solely dedicated to reducing human suffering and is non-political and non-sectarian in its mission. Their mission is to: Serve the needs of the most vulnerable - particularly women and children, victims of natural disasters & civil conflicts, and the poor - with a specific focus on neglected groups and cases, provide holistic, multi-sectoral, sustainable, and pro-poor programs that bridge emergency relief and long-term development at the grassroots level, empower communities by building capacity and by maximizing local resources in both program design and implementation, promote self-reliance, peaceful coexistence, and reintegration of marginalized communities, protect lives from physical injury or death and/or psychological trauma where present, uphold the highest professional norms in program delivery, including accountability to beneficiaries and donors alike.

ONE International.
Backed by a movement of 2 million ONE members, ONE achieves change through advocacy. They hold world leaders to account for the commitments they've made to fight extreme poverty, and they campaign for better development policies, more effective aid and trade reform. They also support greater democracy, accountability and transparency to ensure policies to beat poverty are implemented effectively. ONE is not a grant-making organization and we do not solicit funding from the general public. As they have always said, at ONE, 'we're not asking for your money, we're asking for your voice.'

***Some of the things said in the text above have come directly from their websites. Some I have said in my own words, but not all of it. I encourage you to look at the links below to learn more about these great organizations.***

http://www.poverty-action.org/
http://www.childrensdefense.org/
http://www.ri.org/
http://www.one.org/international/

~J

Poll Results

Do you like juice?

Which of the following is your favorite?

UNICEF: unite for children

Lots of people may have heard of UNICEF, but some may not know what it even is. If you don't keep reading, and if you do, read anyway.
UNICEF was created by the United Nations General Assembly back in 1946 to provide food and health care for children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name.
UNICEF helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. UNICEF's work is carried out in 191 countries through country programmes and National Committees. Some 88 per cent of the organization's posts are located in the field. There are eight regional offices and country offices worldwide, as well as a research centre in Florence, a supply operation in Copenhagen and offices in Tokyo and Brussels. UNICEF headquarters are in New York.

For more information on UNICEF, visit their website:
http://www.unicef.org/
Also visit this link. What UNICEF is doing about poverty: http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/mdg/explore_4580.html

Brad Pitt

     Earlier on in my blogging I had a post about celebrities that help poverty called 'Putting An End To Poverty'. (http://justjuliawilkie.blogspot.com/2010/12/putting-end-to-poverty.html <-- Check it out if you haven't read it yet). I mentioned that Brad Pitt was the top contributer to poverty, so in this post, I'll tell you about some of the things he does to help.
     Brad Pitt’s knowledgeable interest in architecture is focused on worldwide efforts to build environmentally friendly structures through sustainable architecture and design. This led him to convene a group of experts in New Orleans to brainstorm building green, affordable housing on a large scale to help those families most in need after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. That same group now formally comprises The Make It Right Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the object of financing and constructing 150 new houses in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, rebuilding lives and communities with an emphasis on sustainability and affordability.
     In October 2008, The first six houses had been completed. In March 2009, Brad Pitt met with the United States president Barack Obama to promote his concept of green housing and discussed possibilities of federal funding.
     In June 2009, The Jolie-Pitt Foundation dedicated to eradicating extreme rural poverty, protecting natural resources and conserving wildlife, donated to a U.N. refugee agency to help Pakistanis displaced by fighting between troops and Taliban militants.

Other Facts:

• Newsweek Magazine named Pitt as one of “15 People Who Make America Great” for bringing attention to causes in Africa.
• Travelled to Africa to raise awareness for the Make Poverty History campaign.
• Pitt and Angelina Jolie took time to help Wyclef Jean with his Clean Streets project.
• According to tax records, the couple donated more than $8 million to charity in 2006 alone.
• Brad took part in the America: A Tribute to Heroes charity telethon for victims of 9/11.

Poverty Poem

Here is another poem... :) This is for my friend Kristian (Hey_You!) because she requested that I do another one :) So here it is! Enjoy :)

Today, a girl is dying.

You must have seen her, with cracked hands
And cheeks as hollow as her eyes, staring defiantly
At every person that passes her without a glance.

She thinks they must be able to smell it on her:
The bitter tang of metals and grit in her water
And the faint but penetrating scent of sickness.

She sells candies and paper flowers from a cart,
And stands up straight with her dress hanging
Like a sack, though it was a lovely yellow once.

Every so often as she passes her wares to a buyer,
She thinks that the petals and colorful wrappers
Look like wishes should; but she cannot have them.

She must always return to the same cramped room
And dream fitfully of fresh food, health, and comfort
While life pales from her face, like the waxing moon.

One cannot live on bread alone,
But that would be a start.


Bye for now :)

Julia Wilkie

 

End Hunger & Poverty... With 1 Click.

A few years ago, I was just browsing around online and came across a website. It is called the Hunger Site.
With the click of one button, the sponsors pay for cups of food for kids who need it. Since the website started in June of 1999, this website has provided people with 760,000,000 cups of food. If everyone in the 8-4 class at SBS visited this website and clicked the button everyday for a month, our class alone would provide 990 cups of food.
Every day, an average of 220,000 people visit this website and click the button. Funds from this website are split between organizations and go to the aid of hungry people in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.
By also going to the Hunger Site's store and buying something. You don't have to, but 100% of the profits go to the Hungry.
Do your part to end world hunger and poverty, and click today :)
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
> http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=1 <
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I just read this post over and realized.... this sounds slightly like a commercial.... lol... :)

-Julia Wilkie

Some Good Books On Poverty!

Ello! Soo...I've been looking around for a good list of some books on poverty in case you want to learn more... I finally found a good list so I'll put it here and then put the link on the bottom :) Enjoy!

Nickel And Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America - Barbara Ehrenreich
The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
The End Of Poverty - Jeffrey D. Sachs
Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World - Muhammad Yunus
The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck
The Bottom Billion: Why The Poorest Countries Are Failing And What Can Be Done About It - Paul Collier
The Good Earth (House Of Earth #1) - Pearl S. Buck
Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson
The Life You Can Save - Peter Singer

Those are only the top 10 but go to THIS LINK to see the other 559 books :) It's good to know that that many authors want to make a difference.

While I was writing this I realized my friend Kristian (Hey_You!) posted the same list.... Click on the link I posted (The Hey_you! thing) to check out her blog too :)

Tschüs! (Yes... I speak a little German :D )

 ~Julia Wilkie

Worldometers

Hey there! Most of you reading this may already know about this website... It is a really cool website that shows whats happening in the world right now. http://www.worldometers.info/ It's called worldometer and I think you should really look at the Food section. It shows how many people in the world right are undernourished. It also shows how many people in this world are overweight and obese. The number of overweight people (without the number of obese people) is currently higher than the number of undernourished people. If the people in the overweight and obese section donated some of their food to the undernourished people, we could improve both of those numbers. Just something to consider.....

~Julia Wilkie

Polls!

I am going to have new polls up soon... definately by the end of today so make sure you check them out and vote!!!

Thanks!!
Julia ;)


UPDATE** They are up now so go vote!!! (question is: If you had to live without one thing, which of the following would it be?) VOTE VOTE VOTE!! :D

Bye For Now :)

~Julia Wilkie

Percent of Children Living Below National Poverty Lines

This is a chart I found on http://depts.washington.edu/eqhlth/pages/charts.html.

C Ya!

~Julia Wilkie

A Child's One Wish

Christmas passed 12 days ago, and we all had our list of expensive things we wanted, like an iPhone or an iPod touch or even a laptop. On Christmas, we eat so much food while there are children on the streets starving. Their Christmas list only has one thing on it. For things to be better.
     A few years ago, a few days before Christmas, my family decided it was time to give back. My mom looked in the newspapers and online for organizations in Edmonton that feed hungry people at Christmas or donate gifts. She found a few that she thought looked good and gave them a call. She found one in particular that served hungry or poor people a hot meal on Christmas day, and one that donated presents to families that couldn't afford to buy their own.
     That day once my mom told us about what we were doing this Christmas, we drove out and found 6 presents that we thought younger children would enjoy. Things that were popular back then, like Polly Pockets, Barbies, Lego and Transformers. We then drove over to West Edmonton Mall and donated them. Have you ever walked down by the big boat in W.E.M. and seen all of the presents? These are what all of the people are donated to the company called Santa's Anonymous. And now we can say we helped a child smile on Christmas Day.
     On Christmas Eve we had our fun with our family and got our own presents, then went to bed while visions of sugarplums danced in our heads. In the morning we quickly had breakfast and then before opening any more presents, we drove over to the place where the breakfast for the hungry would take place. When we got there, the food was already made so we just went to where all of the other people waited to start serving. Once all of the rest of the people where there, me and my brother peeked out to where the people we were going to serve the meal to sat. They all looked so excited, jumping up and down in their seats and grinning ear to ear! Someone started talking so me and my brother scurried back to where we were supposed to be.
     Once we were back to where we were supposed to be, we started grabbing plates to serve. Every time I gave someone a plate, they politely said thank-you or gave me a huge smile. Even once a girl not much younger than me had a tear in her eye, as she thought she was so blessed.
     Once we were done serving, I knew we had done something that these people would remember for the rest of their lives, and so would I.
     I am sharing this story with you so that next Christmas, you can help too. You don't even have to wait for Christmas, you can help on other holidays too, because if we all do something to help, that's just one step closer to getting rid of this terrible global issue.

See you next time ;)

~Julia Wilkie