For A Change articles from February 2002

For A Change archives from February 2002

Highest, driest, longest. (Ear To The Ground).(the boast of Peru)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Any introduction to Peru is akin to reading a geographical Guinness Book of Records. Of the world's 100 or so micro-climates, 82 can be found within Peru's boundaries. She boasts the world's highest mountain range outside the Himalayas, the...

No escape. (Ear To The Ground).(Enjoying Peru and its people)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... With all these natural and cultural treasures, Peru has been described as `a beggar sitting on a golden bench'. Yet perhaps her greatest hope for a better future comes from her people. From the shy folk of the Sierra and jungle, to the bolshy,...

Volunteers. (Ear To The Ground).(social work in Peru)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Living, as I do, in one of the richer suburbs of Lima, it is easy to forget that the majority of the country lives in crushing poverty. The will of locals and outsiders to respond is enormous. When I first came here, I met two Irish nuns, Marg...

Earthquake. (Ear To The Ground).(Peru rises to the challenge after a big jolt causes widespread destruction)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Last June, the south of Peru suffered a huge earthquake. The response from the rest of the country, as well as outside agencies, was immediate. I visited the area a month later and my most vivid memory, apart from the piles of rubble which...

Football and faith. (Ear To The Ground).(religion and sports in Peru)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The two great beliefs here are Catholicism and that Peru will one day win the football World Cup. Even the smallest village has a church and a football pitch in front of it. Devotion to faith is perhaps most vividly demonstrated by ruthless...

I'll be back! (Ear To The Ground).(enjoying Peru)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Celebrating is one of the things Peruvians do best, whether it be greeting a goal (when commentators sound like vacuum cleaners choking on carpet), sharing the wicked local brew, Pisco, or the graceful swoops of the Marinera dance. And so...

All cities need hope. (From The Editor's Desk).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... In this issue we carry a lead story about an American initiative to unite racially diverse communities. Hope in the Cities (HIC), based in Richmond, Virginia, has a well established track record of helping people of different racial and...

The city that dares to talk: Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the southern states which seceded at the time of the American Civil War, has a chequered racial past. Today it is becoming known for the radical approach to racial dialogue pioneered by its residents. (Lead Story).
February 1, 2002... They walked along the banks of the James River quietly, deliberately. Two hundred and fifty years ago, they were enslaved Africans, brought to Richmond, Virginia, for the economic gain of whites. Today, their descendants and other African...

Fuel for learning. (People Making A Difference).(little talk with Carmel McConnell, social activist)(Interview)
February 1, 2002... Carmel McConnell, `a social activist with a strong track-record in business leadership' as she describes herself, is passionate about child poverty in Britain--and about enlisting businesses to fight it. She has no problem in approaching such...

Radio wave on human rights. (People Making A Difference).(chatting with Getachew Hailu Wolie, radio personality; Ethiopia)(Interview)
February 1, 2002... Getachew Hailu Wolie is Head of Programmes for Radio Fana in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Fana means `light' and the independent station which he helped to found broadcasts in four languages. Getachew is enthusiastic about what he sees as the...

There or nowhere.(St. Andrew's Wharf Youth Project, London, England)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Nearly 200 young people a week pop into St Andrew's Wharf Youth Project, in the east of London, intrigued by the variety of events and programmes run by its volunteers and social workers. Anyone from eight to 25 years old comes here from all...

Making space for faith in the House of Representatives: Douglas Tanner set up an institute to inject faith values into the US House of Representatives--and to make sure that members are up to speed on their country's racial history. (Profile).
February 1, 2002... As dawn breaks in Washington, six members of the US House of Representatives arrive at a Congressional office where coffee and juice await. There, too, is the Rev W Douglas Tanner Jr, President of the 10-year-old Faith and Politics Institute....

Citizen power in South Africa: in the dying days of the apartheid era, the inhabitants of Stutterheim, South Africa, took their future into their own hands. William Smook visits a town which has undergone a remarkable transformation. (Community Regeneration).
February 1, 2002... Nestling at the foot of the Amatola mountains in South Africa's Eastern Cape, Stutterheim looks like any of the country's 500-odd rural towns. But its people have wrought something the politicians only promised in 1994's democratic elections:...

Cleadon, englandiving Cleadon its confidence back: an award-winning charity in England's north east has helped over 3,000 people in five years. (Community Regeneration).(Community Regeneration Trust North East wins British Urban Regeneration Association Charitable Trust Award)
February 1, 2002... The remarkable thing about the Community Regeneration Trust North East is the way it enlists the people of one of Britain's most deprived areas in helping their communities. The National winner for 2000 of the British Urban Regeneration...

Eric Liddell--pure gold. (Book Review).
February 1, 2002... Eric Liddell--pure gold by David McCasland Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids, 2001 David McCasland's appealing book tells the story of the 1924 Olympic champion made famous to later generations in the film, Chariots of fire. Liddell...

A contemplative in action: Irish nun and social worker Sister Stanislaus Kennedy believes that spiritual discipline and practical caring can enhance each other. (Profile 2).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Sister Stanislaus Kennedy wanted to work with poor people from the time when she was growing up on the family farm in Dingle, Co Kerry in the Republic of Ireland. As there were no opportunities to study social work when she left school in 1958,...

Mediterranean dialogue in Malta. (Newsdesk).(Mount St. Josepha retreat and conference hosts 25 Mediterranean countries and 20 host countries meet)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Dialogue is the key to finding common objectives across the divide between the Western and the Muslim worlds. And sincere listening is the key to dialogue. It means being as concerned about the injustices suffered by the other side as about our...

Small business role models: an Asian business support group is helping Bradford's young Muslims into jobs. (Enterprise).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... When a minority of young Asians, provoked by the extreme right wing British National Party, rioted in Bradford, Yorkshire, last June, an unusual full-page advertisement appeared in the local paper four days later. It was placed by Asian Trades...

Investing in the regeneration of Nagaland. (Enterprise).(Entrepreneurs Associates)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A group of young first-generation entrepreneurs from Nagaland, in India's volatile north-east region, recently won a prestigious award for their work in helping fledgling businesses get off the ground. The aim of Entrepreneurs Associates (EA)...

Cincinnati's past informs its future. (Webbsite).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The scenes, televised globally, were ugly--rioting, looting, young African American men hauled to jail. That was Cincinnati, Ohio, last April after a policeman shot and killed an unarmed 19-year-old African American youth he said he thought...

Extravagant love. (Reflections).(Poem)
February 1, 2002... Extravagant love I trace your love, oh my God-- from the first day, when you painted the globe in splashes of green and blue and gold, fired up the furnace of the sun, rolled planets into place and etched the...

Race and repentance. (Guest Column).(Brief Article)(Column)
February 1, 2002... More than 30 years after the death of Martin Luther King Jr, America is still divided along racial lines. Why? Two thirds of black Americans have achieved middle-class status, but one third remain in poverty--many seemingly trapped in the...