Girl Power?

Lured by the romance of joining the "jihadi girl power subculture," young tech-savvy Western women are developing contacts with ISIS terrorists, just like the Latin Queens who have been drawn to the gang of Latin Kings. The question is: Are women who join terrorist groups and gangs exhibiting girl power or their willingness to become tools of male power? Are terrorist groups grooming women to use their quick reflexes to detonate car bombs, their devotion to become suicide bombers, or their feminine wiles to return to their home countries to attack targets determined by men?

      Female Kurdish soldiers also have taken up arms against ISIS. Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned Marxist leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has long fought a war for independence from Turkey, recognized how his support for gender equality would help enlist women who understand ISIS's intention to restrict the rights of women.

 Girl power is seen in other forms by the following women:

• Malala Yousafzai The Pakistani girl who recovered from being shot in the head by the Taliban and went onto win a Nobel Peace Prize for supporting the education of women throughout the world  In 2015, Time magazine named her one of the "100 Most Influential People." Her story is told in the book, I Am Malala.
• Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe This nun from the order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, recognized as one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" in 2014,  ministers to the girls abducted and raped by soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army in Southern Sudan and Uganda. At the Saint Monica Vocational School in Gulu, Uganda, these girls learn to grow their own food, make their own clothes, tenderly care for their children, and sew the purses and other items they sell to support themselves and their families. Profits from the book, Sewing Hope, the story of Sister Rosemary, support her work.

Also, consider the three women that National Geographic has identified as "Emerging Explorers."

• Mantza Morales Casanova When this Mexican woman saw children harming animals and plants, she decided to form Humanity United to Nature in Harmony for Beauty (HUNAB), an organization determined: 1) to put education about the environment into schools, 2) create Ceiba Petandra Park, a free area where 64,000 children can have an interactive learning experience about climate change, wetland conservation, wildlife protection, and pollution, and 3) to provide the education that children need to become environmental leaders who change the world.
• Shivani Bhalla Determined to save Kenya's lions, she founded: 1) Lions Kids Camp, where children often see lions in the wild for the first time, and 2) Ewaso Lions, a community outreach program designed to give tribal warriors, women, and children reasons to embrace conservation and to respect and coexist with lions.
• Shabana Basij-Rasikh At a risk to her own life and theirs, her parents sent her to a school in Afghanistan, where she excelled and went on to earn a degree from Middlebury College in the United States. To prepare other girls to attend universities abroad, she co-founded the School of Leadership, Afghanistan, a boarding school for girls. She has said, "The most effective antidote to the Taliban is to create the best educated leadership generation in Afghanistan's history. Our girls of today - the women of tomorrow - will make it happen."

Sporting Violence

Clashing helmets and competitors who bite remind sports fans around the world that violence occurs on the field. But, when a fan threw out the first pitch from his wheelchair at this year's World Series baseball game, he reminded everyone that violence also occurs at sporting events off the field. How did his injury happen? He was attacked in the parking lot after a game.

Violence is so prevalent at soccer games that Franklin Foer, in his book, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, delved into the psychology of fans who attack each other.

Spotters for trendwatching.com report that Ecuador has responded to the threat of fan violence by keeping two white seats empty at its Club Sport Emelec Stadium in honor of two fans killed at games. The venue also sponsors a website, where fans can sign a pledge to avoid violence at soccer matches.

Never Too Young to Invest in the Future

Small and large scale investments offer money-making opportunities throughout the world. Check out $25 gift-giving ideas for kiva and other organizations at the blog post, "Gifts for Happy Holidays."

     A Special Report in the Financial Times (October 6, 2014) is cause to consider major money-making opportunities in Africa. Javier Blas wrote that high commodity prices, cheap Chinese loans, and improved governance have led to Africa's currently healthy growth. (Go to the later blog post, "Chocolate's Sweet Deals," to see how cocoa growers and investors can cooperate to benefit from the growing demand for chocolate in emerging markets.)

     The African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association estimates there is now $25 billion worth of private investment in Africa. It is in basic household goods, power, telecom transmission and pipeline projects, not just commodities, oil, diamonds, gold, and other minerals. When the US Carlyle Group launched its maiden African fund with a $500 million target, it closed at $700 million. It's first African investment, $150 million in Nigeria's Diamond Bank, was followed by an investment in a tire and parts retailer in Johannesburg, South Africa. Runa Alam, chief executive of London-based Development Partners International (DPI), a private equity fund that invests in African businesses, observed that top business schools are producing investors with skill sets that include global and local networks that can sniff out investment worthy companies in Africa, not only in China and Latin America.

     Indeed, private investment continues to find opportunities in Africa. In February, 2015, Actis Capital (a London-based private equity firm that concentrates its investments in emerging markets) and Mainstream Renewable Power (a Dublin-based clean energy developer) teamed up to invest $1.9 billion in a new Lekela Power venture that will operate solar and wind power projects in South Africa, Ghana, and Egypt.

     That is not to say Africa is problem free. Economic conditions have not improved across the board. Potential unemployment hovers over large chunks of the new middle class. The young population of one billion, on its way to four billion by 2100, is disillusioned and under-educated. (See the later blog post, "Recess Differs Around the World," to get a glimpse of Africa's under funded schools.) Compared to Asia, Africa's young people are unqualified for manufacturing jobs. (The earlier blog post, "Discover Africa," however, tells how young Africans take advantage of entering and winning contests and are starting their own businesses.)

     The Ebola crisis showed that disease can still devastate some parts of Africa; the abduction of over 200 teenage girls in Nigeria shows how religious and ethnic divisions persist; and corruption and greed continue to infest government and motivate leaders, except in Nigeria (See the later blog post, "Nigeria's New Beginning."), to cling to their positions after their constitutional terms of office end. With mobile phones and social media, however, young people have the means to voice their demands and frustrations and to receive solicitations from Islamic extremists. Nonetheless, young voters can be a powerful bloc capable of making their call for change heard. In the end, Africa is an investment opportunity that should not be overlooked.

Sleep Deprived Test Scores

When do students in Shanghai, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan take key standardized tests, such as those in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)? Of the 15-year-olds who took these tests in 65 countries, students in these four countries came out on top in the latest (Dec. 3, 2013) PISA. Could timing contribute to testing success?

     After a Friday night when high school students hang out with friends at football games and movies or stay up playing video games, my granddaughter was among classmates who had to turn up at her high school at 7:45 am on Saturday to take the standardized PSAT exam that determines National Merit Scholarships and has a big impact on which colleges students attend. A policy statement, published online by the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics on August 25, 2014, challenges the timing of such an important test.

    According to the findings of the Academy's Adolescent Sleep Working Group and Committee on Adolescence and the Council on School Health, "making middle and high schoolers start classes before 8:30 am threatens children's health, safety, and academic performance." Lack of sleep contributes to a teen's risk of traffic accidents, depression, and obesity. Since biology determines a shift in a teenager's sleep-wake cycle, these students find it difficult, if not impossible, to go to sleep before 10:30 pm. Studies show the average teenager can't even fall asleep at 11 pm. (Incidentally, on the "Dr. Oz" television show October 21, 2014, a woman who couldn't fall asleep when she went to bed at 9 pm was advised to go to bed much later when she was really tired.)

     Based on these findings, the American Academy of Pediatrics called on school districts to move start times to 8:30 am or later so that teenagers who are getting six to seven hours of sleep a night can get at least 8 1/2 to 10 hours of sleep. Those who do get enough sleep do better academically, have better standardized test scores, and enjoy a better quality of life. Nonetheless, at present, research shows only about 15% of high schools begin at 8:30 am or later and 40% start before 8 am. But Stacy Simera, the outreach director for Start School Later Inc., reports "the number of schools opening later has grown exponentially," with positive results, such as those reported by researchers at the University of Minnesota. In the eight Minnesota high schools that began using later start times, grades, attendance, and punctuality all improved, and there was a 70% reduction in teen-aged auto accidents.

    Simera acknowledges that there are critics of starting high schools later who complain that parents can't get their students off to class that late because they have to leave earlier to get themselves to work. Then, there are the problems of school bus schedules that have to change two shifts that accommodate elementary and high schools, problems scheduling after-school activities, the needs of older siblings who need to get home before the younger ones they care for, and the time when after-school jobs begin. Sumera has found, however, that despite these concerns, schools have been able to adjust.

   Even if criticisms continue to block changes in some school week day schedules, they do not apply to important tests given on weekends. It would be worthwhile to see if beginning tests at a later start time could improve the lagging performance of U.S. students on the PISA. When administering tests of the new Common Core State Standards to teenagers in the United States, it also would be worthwhile to compare performances on tests that began at various times.



     

 

Gifts for Happy Holidays

Halloween is about to usher in the holiday season of Hanukkah, St. Nicolas Day, Christmas, New Year's, and the Epiphany. This season not only presents an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends, but it also offers an opportunity to give children gifts that open their eyes to what the world has to offer.

     Foil-covered milk and dark chocolate, Kosher certified, coins that children love can be ordered from SERRV (serrv.org), a nonprofit organization that makes sure gifts are made around the world by poor artisans and farmers who receive a living wage and work in safe, healthy conditions. SERRV also sells an Advent Calendar that hides a milk chocolate heart behind each day leading up to the nativity scene. For each Advent Calendar sold, a school notebook is donated to a child in the schools of Kuapa Kokoo, Ghana, where the cooperative that raises the cocoa beans for these chocolates is located.

     Since museums feature exhibits from around the world, their shops are an excellent source of global gifts. In New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store (store.metmuseum.org) is known for putting together a collection of items that cater to kids. One of its most interesting offerings is a Global Glowball that entertains and educates children six months and older. There are 39 sections on the globe that each light up and play a song, such as Bollywood pop, a tango, or jazz, from the area of the world a child pushes. Youngsters can roll the globe, learn geography, and use it as a night light; the Global Glowball does it all.
     Children 8 and older also can get hands-on experience writing with Egyptian hieroglyphs and making Japanese origami projects with kits and instruction books from the Metropolitan Museum. Or they can assemble a 252-piece floor map puzzle of the world from the museum.

     Some gifts last all year. Just as adults might exchange magazine gift subscriptions and memberships in a fruit-of-the-month club, children aged six and up would love to receive a gift subscription that brings the prize winning collection of fascinating facts of the world in National Geographic Kids (kids.nationalgeographic.com) to them ten times a year. For kids aged 3 to 6,  National Geographic Little Kids comes out six time a year. Preschoolers enjoy its read-aloud stories and colorful animal photos, games, puzzles, and other activities
     To introduce its program that sends 5 to 10 year olds a monthly package of items related to a particular country, for a small fee, Little Passports (littlepassports.com) sends a child a travel suitcase with a world map, stickers, an activity sheet, and access to online games and activities.

     Nothing is more welcome after all the gifts are unwrapped than seeing a child settle down to relax and enjoy one of his or her presents. Like any child in the world might do, my granddaughter would start to work out some of the logic or number puzzles in a Perplexor workbook from Mindware
(mindware.com).
 My daughter used to start to read one of her new books. This year, children might like to read:
     The Last King of Angkor Wat by Graeme Base. He tells 6 to 8 year olds the history of Cambodia's
famous temple by using detailed illustrations of the tiger, elephant, monkey, water buffalo and gecko that reveal their strengths and weaknesses as they compete to be king.

     Animals also are the focus of two non-fiction books for 6 to 8 year olds: National Geographic Kids Animal Heartwarming True Tales from the Animal Kingdom by Jane Yolen and Heidi and Adam Stemple, which tells about the geese that saved the Roman Empire and much more. And Born in the Wild: Baby Mammals and Their Parents by Lita Judge, a book that uses illustrations and text to show and tell how little animals all over the world live and grow.

     The Copernicus Legacy by Tony Abbott uses puzzles, intrigue, and adventure to take readers 9 to 12 around the world on a hunt for pieces of the past.

     Winners of a South Asia book award also involve young readers in what's happening in the world.
Jennifer Bradbury's A Moment Comes follows the struggles of three students in 1947 India, before the country was divided into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.
     In Elizabeth Suneby's Razia's Ray of Hope: One Girl's Dream of an Education, Razia has to convince her family that her education at Afghanistan's Zabuli Education Center for Girls just outside Kabul would benefit not only her and her family but even the whole community.
     Two Muslim girls have the dual problem of practicing their religion and fitting in at school in The Garden of My Imaan by Farhana Zia.

     Really young kids might like to have someone read them a new kind of alphabet book. Oliver Jeffers, the Australian author who grew up in Northern Ireland and now lives in Brooklyn, NY, has created a122-page gift, Once Upon an Alphabet, that goes beyond "A is for apple" to illustrate and write stories for all 26 letters of the alphabet.

    Finally, there are several very unusual presents.

•  Young people who receive a $25 Kiva gift card can go to the Kiva website (kiva.org) and scroll through a list to decide which of the small businesses around the world they would like to support. They could return to the site again and again for progress reports and to receive a borrower's repayment in their Kiva Credit Account.
•   The World Wildlife Fund (worldwildlife.org) helps animal-loving kids make a symbolic adoption of a tiger, panda, fennec fox, African black-footed penguin, or African elephant. World Wildlife also offers a "Sniffer Dog: Labrador Retriever Adoption Kit" that comes with a plush dog, like the ones that work at airports to sniff out illegal wildlife being transported by smugglers.
•   Through Heifer International (heifer.org/gift), a young person who receives an Honor Card worth $10 or more learns he or she has helped end hunger in the poorest parts of the world. Contributions go to purchase cows, goats, sheep, water buffalo, pigs, donkeys, llamas, rabbits, honeybees, chicks, ducks, trees, water pumps for irrigation, and biogas stoves. Since families who receive animals give one or more of their animal offspring to other needy families, one contribution has a multiplying effect throughout a community.

     Wishing the whole world peace and happiness this holiday season!

(Find ideas for making holiday cards and gift wrap at the earlier blog post, "Arts and Crafts for Christmas in July.")