Month: January 2010

Afghanistan's Future: Importance of Education

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Source: World Bank- Education in Afghanistan
Source: World Bank- Education in Afghanistan
Source: World Bank- Skills Development in Afghanistan
Source: World Bank- Skills Development in Afghanistan

 

Some students are not as fortunate to be brought up in a culture that has access to quality education which we as Furman students often take for granted.  I will take a look at the education in Afghanistan and the challenges and improvements that are taking place. Before reading on, watch this YouTube video provided by the IRC: International Rescue Committee that focuses on Afghan education.

Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, enrollment was approximately 43% for boys and only 3% for girls. Females had been forbidden to attend school or teach during this time and only 21,000 highly under-educated teachers existed (which equaled 240 students per teacher). The International Development Association (IDA)  has helped finance multiple initiatives (such as Afghanistan Skills Development Project  in hopes to increase the number of immediately-employable graduates by building a system that is equitable, market responsive, and cost-effective) providing grants to all 34 provinces.   Funds provide teacher training, educational materials, construction, and curriculum standards. 

  • Enrollment: in grades 1-12 increased from 3.9 million in 2004 to 6.2 million in 2008
  • Girls’ Enrollment: increased from 839,000 to more than 2.2 million
  • Boys’ Enrollment: increased from 2.6 million to 3.9 million
  • Training: 32,467 teachers took a comprehensive training module (160,000 teachers total in Afghanistan)
  • Construction: 58 schools (mainly for girls) were refurbished or built

Currently, Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund approved on January 29, 2010 will have contributions  used to finance Afghanistan’s education program and the Education Quality Improvement Program will assist with basic education, school construction, and school upgrades.  Committees are composed of local community members and they form partnerships with the local government to manage education needs.  Such education is key to foster an outlook for a positive future for the country by eliminating poverty and decreasing the gender gap.

Professional Athletes Team Up to "Tackle" Relief Efforts in Haiti

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Uniting for a cause, that’s what professional athletes do as their profession.  That unity has brought the entire sports world together to aid relief efforts in Haiti.  With that said, this blog will assess how the media, especially sports networks, are covering relief efforts nationwide.  I will gather information from the sports networks through several media outlets as well as individual stories of athletes who are form or have family in Haiti.  I will also have the privilege to interview a native Haitian soccer player at Furman University to get an in-depth insight of what this means to him.  To strengthen my blog, I will reference past foreign disasters and show how professional athletes and their respective organizations have impacted U.S. foreign policy for years.

Yemen: The Future of Terrorism?

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My goal is to explore the importance of the media’s portrayal of United States’ relations with Yemen, as a result of the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day.  I will assess the latest developments in Yemen and the United States’ potential involvement in Yemen, while evaluating any journalistic bias.

In order to address this issue, I will consult several sources.

-I will read credible sources such as The New York Times;

-I will gather commentary from established foreign policy experts;

-Finally, I will interview Furman faculty and students with an extensive knowledge and passion for U.S. foreign policy on their opinions of the emerging concern over Yemen, its impact on the citizens of the United States, and the media’s portrayal of Yemen.

Implications of U.S. Foreign Environmental Policy

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ElCalafateDay2PanoramicLvlAdj800x600

One of the most pressing issues being discussed in the world today is global climate change. As a leading superpower, the United States plays an integral role in how foreign environmental policy is enacted and the effectiveness of those regulations. By examining the specific regulations and proposed outcomes of both U.S. foreign policy as well as environmental diplomacy that the U.S. partakes in I will address the effects, both direct and indirect, environmental and economic, of those policies. I will use the determined effects and outcomes to decipher  the pros and cons of following through or complying with such a policy on the global and national level. To research these aspects I will interview Furman professors who are well versed in environmental issues as well as researching the scientific and economic data that accompanies environmental policy on well respected climatologist websites and articles.

Modern Day Slavery

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Trafficking in persons, forced prostitution, bonded labor. No matter what you call it human trafficking is a frighteningly overlooked issue.  I will examine national and international perspectives on “trafficking in persons” as seen through popular culture, not-for-profit aide, and political response.  I will investigate the US and UN policies on human trafficking from the Trafficking in Persons Reports.  I will study countries in which human trafficking is prevalent and review cases reporting trafficking.  I will examine the efforts of organizations whose mission is to end human trafficking and their recovery programs through interviewing officials of the organizations and reading personal accounts.  I will finally look at popular culture’s perceptions of human trafficking through peer discussion, Hollywood films and documentaries.

Surekhas life is confined by the walls of this brothel cell she calls homes in Mumbai, India. Photograph by: Jodi Cobb

Surekha, a victim of human trafficking, is confined by the walls of this brothel cell she calls homes in Mumbai, India.

Source: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature1/zoom4.html

Photograph by: Jodi Cobb


Latin America: Media and the Marginalized

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Isidro and his family. They live in Tlamacazapa, an indigenous village in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico.
Isidro and his family. They live in Tlamacazapa, an indigenous village in the southern state of Guerrero, Mexico.

Every day people all over the world bear the brunt or share in the splendor of United States foreign policy.  No one feels these effects more strongly than the indigenous and marginalized communities in Latin America.  As engaged citizens—but more importantly—human beings, it is important we probe issues such as immigration, militarism, investments, and aid.  In this blog, I will incorporate reputable news sources like La Jornada, The New York Times and CNN to explain my claims regarding representation of the poor and varying perspectives on these themes.  Background research using academic journals, government documents and interviews with experts will enhance my credibility.  Passion, authenticity and depth of understanding will come from my experiences living in Mexico for two months.

Latin America and U.S. Immigration Policy

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I will being taking an indepth look at the importance of the coverage of the U.S. immigration policy and reform in Latin American media outlets in the United States. I feel that as Americans we tend to only see the United States’ side and opinions on this issue and rarley get a chance to see how those affected by this legislation feel. I will look at how the information is framed and how certain topics like illegal immigration are discussed and made accessible to their viewers. To do this I will watch two news casts weekly on Telemundo and Univision; I will go online and go to websites geared toward the Latin American communityand interview Furman faculty and students to get their insights on how they feel these media outlets shapes attiudes in the Hispanic community.

The Role of the US in the African HIV/AIDS Crisis

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Namibian orphans, some of whose parents fell victim to AIDS, with their caretaker Meme Maria.
Namibian orphans, some of whose parents fell victim to AIDS, with their caretaker Meme Maria.

My goal is to explore US involvement in alleviating the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.  While participating in a ten-week study abroad program to Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana, I learned first-hand how these countries were affected by AIDS.  My focus will be the efforts of government programs (such as PEPFAR and USAID) to address the crisis, and I will compare the policy changes of these programs with the administration change from Bush to Obama. I will assess the dispensation of monetary aid as well as the success of any relief programs being administered in Africa.  I will reference the websites of the programs and assess news articles critiquing the effectiveness of each. I will also interview Furman faculty who have intimate knowledge of this subject.

Angels in Disguise?

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This semester I will be exploring US foreign policy with regards to providing medical aid and assistance to Africa, focusing specifically on AIDS and Malaria. I will be comparing US policies under former President George W. Bush, and the current policies of the Obama administration, and  looking at the influence of philanthropic organizations and how they impact government policy, specifically from U2 front man Bono, the Clinton Foundation, and the Gates Foundation. Through examining scholarly books and journals, which focus on medical aid to Africa, and interviewing Furman faculty who have expertise on US foreign policy with regards to providing medical aid and assistance I will gain even deeper insights on the subject. On a local note, I will document the perspectives and activities of campus associations, such as Africa Rising, that relate to providing medical aid and assistance to Africa.

The Red Campaign, one of the many philanthropies fighting HIV/Aids in Africa
The Red Campaign, one of the many philanthropies fighting HIV/Aids in Africa

Lending a Helpful Hand: Foreign Aid

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uncle sam foreign aid

As Furman students, we often get trapped in the “Furman bubble” and sometimes neglect to see what is truly going on in the world around us.  We often take things such as our education and health for granted.  My goal in this blog over the semester is to focus on various aspects of the United States and international organizations assisting in foreign countries with an emphasis on education and health aid among other human interest topics.  My sources will include USAID, IRC, World Bank, the UN and UNICEF as well as interviews from experts, classmates, and professors.  By doing this I hope to provide valuable insight into this aspect of U.S. foreign aid and hopefully enable my peers to be educated and formulate their own opinions on international issues.