Minyoung - Together we can Make the World a Better Place
I have a friend who is volunteering in Ivory Coast, Africa. When I heard that she wanted to go to Africa as a volunteer, I disagreed because I thought we have many people in Korea who need to help locally. We don’t have to go to Africa to help them. She stuck to her guns and she left the country last year. At the time, I sneered at her choice. I thought it’s a waste of time and effort.
I saw the MDGs promotion. The Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) are eight international development goals that all 192 United Nations member states have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They includes eradicating extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for communication.
When I read about MDGs, I pictured my friend’s face and I was crying inside. What was this feeling? I am a very realistic and rational person but my emotion whispered, “Min young, you are wrong. You’re too intolerant.” May be in my heart of hearts I was feeling everyone should volunteer to help others.
How do these promotions help others? First, I was astounded by figures of people who live on $1 a day or less, children who do not attend school, women who are illiterate and die during pregnancy or children birth. Second, the causes of children mortality are preventable by eliminating diseases. This means that if we pay attention to these children we can cure them and they can have a better life. Third, I can’t imagine a world without adequate sanitation and safe drinking water. Even now there countries continue to struggle to obtain what other countries take for granted and consider normal. Fourth, the last question in this promotion “Can we afford to remain indifferent?” The last slogan “Together we can make these goals a reality” stuck me because I thought there are no things that I try to change the world and I didn’t anything.
Through this organization, I took a long hard look at myself. I understand my friend’s choice and I admire her. I realize the importance of philanthropy. Over the past several decades many economist suggest policies for the Third World but no improvements have resulted. The Third World doesn’t want difficult economy theory. They don’t want armchair arguments. It is philanthropy that they really want. They want togetherness. Together we can make the world a better place.
I saw the MDGs promotion. The Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) are eight international development goals that all 192 United Nations member states have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They includes eradicating extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for communication.
When I read about MDGs, I pictured my friend’s face and I was crying inside. What was this feeling? I am a very realistic and rational person but my emotion whispered, “Min young, you are wrong. You’re too intolerant.” May be in my heart of hearts I was feeling everyone should volunteer to help others.
How do these promotions help others? First, I was astounded by figures of people who live on $1 a day or less, children who do not attend school, women who are illiterate and die during pregnancy or children birth. Second, the causes of children mortality are preventable by eliminating diseases. This means that if we pay attention to these children we can cure them and they can have a better life. Third, I can’t imagine a world without adequate sanitation and safe drinking water. Even now there countries continue to struggle to obtain what other countries take for granted and consider normal. Fourth, the last question in this promotion “Can we afford to remain indifferent?” The last slogan “Together we can make these goals a reality” stuck me because I thought there are no things that I try to change the world and I didn’t anything.
Through this organization, I took a long hard look at myself. I understand my friend’s choice and I admire her. I realize the importance of philanthropy. Over the past several decades many economist suggest policies for the Third World but no improvements have resulted. The Third World doesn’t want difficult economy theory. They don’t want armchair arguments. It is philanthropy that they really want. They want togetherness. Together we can make the world a better place.
Realize Fair Trade through ICT
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the key to alleviating poverty in developing countries because it is powerful itself. ICT cooperation programs are divided in three parts. Health, education and economy make it powerful. In health, all medical records have been computerized. They know patient’s record of a past event more exactly and attend a patient more effectively. In education, the goal is one laptop per child. Learning how to read and write by means of computer, children teach their parents what they learned. It appears that we can give education opportunity to all the people in the world. In economy, they set up a handicraft shop on the local Internet kiosk where they can sell product on online. Let’s take another example. Through the Internet they create relationships and start their business that makes 3 million dollars every month. I want to pay attention to economy ICT cooperation program.
Current trade construction has many problems. The more affluent developed countries become, the poorer developing countries become. Trade deal is enacted unilaterally for importer rather than equally for producer. There are many unfair trade practices such as long working hours, below minimum wage within their country, unfair dealings and exploitation of children. To solve these problems, we need fair trade. Fair trade is an alternative approach to conventional trade and is based on a partnership between producers and consumers. Fair trade offers producers a better deal and improves terms of trade. This allows them the opportunity to improve their lives and plan for their future.
I think ICT will be the best tool to realize fair trade, on account of high price and distribution structure, fair trade products are not sold much in reality. Through ICT, they will not only improve distribution structure but also lower the price. It makes consumers purchase products more easily and offers unbeatable prices due to not having brokers or middlemen. The producers in the Third World should be taught how to use the Internet far distribution so that they can stand on their own legs. They don’t have to suffer from unjust treatment. ICT will open the new world to them, as it does to us. With the ICT weapon of fair trade, developing countries will take themselves to their world and be the fastest growing countries.
Current trade construction has many problems. The more affluent developed countries become, the poorer developing countries become. Trade deal is enacted unilaterally for importer rather than equally for producer. There are many unfair trade practices such as long working hours, below minimum wage within their country, unfair dealings and exploitation of children. To solve these problems, we need fair trade. Fair trade is an alternative approach to conventional trade and is based on a partnership between producers and consumers. Fair trade offers producers a better deal and improves terms of trade. This allows them the opportunity to improve their lives and plan for their future.
I think ICT will be the best tool to realize fair trade, on account of high price and distribution structure, fair trade products are not sold much in reality. Through ICT, they will not only improve distribution structure but also lower the price. It makes consumers purchase products more easily and offers unbeatable prices due to not having brokers or middlemen. The producers in the Third World should be taught how to use the Internet far distribution so that they can stand on their own legs. They don’t have to suffer from unjust treatment. ICT will open the new world to them, as it does to us. With the ICT weapon of fair trade, developing countries will take themselves to their world and be the fastest growing countries.
Why We Help the Third World?
The Third World suffers from not only poverty but also its ability to respond to disaster. Developing countries have a different handling of disaster from developed countries. First, economic power is associated with resilience. U.S. donors gave $105 million to Japan in the first week, compared with $275 million for Haiti after its earthquake last year. Why? It's largely because Japan is a well-developed country with an established relief system. The districts that weren’t directly affected by the catastrophe helped the stricken district a lot in reconstruction. Underdeveloped countries such as Haiti, Philippines and Iran don’ t have capacity to resolve challenges. The undamaged districts in developing countries are also needy.
Second, there is a gap in an accumulation of experience and knowledge. Watching the tall buildings remain standing despite a terrible shock in Japan, people are surprised at perfect earthquake-resistant design. Advanced countries are mounting information that let people know how to prepare and what to do in times of calamity. Less developed countries, on the other hand, are helpless in front of a war of the elements. They don’t have experience and knowledge to get ready and address the situation.
Third, the Third world is lacking in civility. People seem astonished that Japanese people did the polite things, prevent looting and adapt themselves to their community in a disastrous situation. They don’t afraid of immature civic awareness but absent creativity in order to overcome unprecedented challenges. What if calamity happened in Korea? I feel we are not yet developed so that Korea might have problem with crime, corruption and lawlessness.
Through handling of disaster, I realize why development is important. Time over, we take a step forward. I respect the Third World’s culture but they have to prepare the basic conditions. Developing countries have a right to sustain stable life and should promote their impoverished life. The Third World needs help.
Second, there is a gap in an accumulation of experience and knowledge. Watching the tall buildings remain standing despite a terrible shock in Japan, people are surprised at perfect earthquake-resistant design. Advanced countries are mounting information that let people know how to prepare and what to do in times of calamity. Less developed countries, on the other hand, are helpless in front of a war of the elements. They don’t have experience and knowledge to get ready and address the situation.
Third, the Third world is lacking in civility. People seem astonished that Japanese people did the polite things, prevent looting and adapt themselves to their community in a disastrous situation. They don’t afraid of immature civic awareness but absent creativity in order to overcome unprecedented challenges. What if calamity happened in Korea? I feel we are not yet developed so that Korea might have problem with crime, corruption and lawlessness.
Through handling of disaster, I realize why development is important. Time over, we take a step forward. I respect the Third World’s culture but they have to prepare the basic conditions. Developing countries have a right to sustain stable life and should promote their impoverished life. The Third World needs help.