Guest Blogger: Danica Strocen was born and raised in Calgary Alberta. She is a recent graduate of Mount Royal University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology.
Last year, we saw incredible and heart breaking pictures of refugees encountering, succumbing, but often overcoming to incredible obstacles in their search for a safe and secure haven. In Canada, similar to other parts of the world, we also witnessed a sharp rise in anti-refugee rhetoric. These anti-refugee messages were filled with distrust and fear. Refugees were (and continue to be) being presented as dangerous and detrimental to our way of life. Amongst this bitter environment, our Mayor, Naheed Nenshi courageously stepped forward and urged Calgarians and rest of Canadians to welcome the incoming refugees with “open arms.”
The Ebola Emergency Relief Fund was established a few weeks ago with a focus on providing a multi-layered approach to funding the Ebola crisis facing countries in Africa.
Charities in the fund: Doctors Without Borders, SOS Children's Village and Unicef.
Another natural disaster has struck. Except in this case, it was one that was preventable and could have been planned for. I am talking about the famine in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. Do you watch TV on Saturday morning or late at night? Ever see those celebrity endorsed ads for international aid organizations with the flies buzzing around the kids with dirty faces and distended bellies? Ever wonder, how international NGO's can support kids on $30/day and still afford TV production ad time? Perhaps you also look at those kids and ask how effective is my sponsor-a-child?
Another natural disaster has struck. Except in this case, it was one that was preventable and could have been planned for. I am talking about the famine in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. Do you watch TV on Saturday morning or late at night? Ever see those celebrity endorsed ads for international aid organizations with the flies buzzing around the kids with dirty faces and distended bellies? Ever wonder, how international NGO's can support kids on $30/day and still afford TV production ad time? Perhaps you also look at those kids and ask how effective is my sponsor-a-child?