Recently I had the pleasure of reading a book that has profoundly touched me in ways i'm not even sure how to explain. Now being a grad student there is not a whole lot of time to read books for pleasure, but I could not put this book down and essentially read it every chance I could get. This book, Half the Sky, has reaffirmed what I already knew...that educating a girl can be one of the single most important things we can do and can truly be the missing piece to changing this world. This book revitalized me and my vision for my future work.This book has helped me put my burn out on hold and re-introduced me to a cause that I am so passionate about. Being that this is my field I found the book capitivating and i'm sure for those of you who may not have the same interests as me will find it just as interesting and capitivating as I have. This book first introduced to me through a TED talk I watched in my Comparative and International Ed. class, intrigued me. I began seeing it pop up more and more and finally I broke down, walked into the Barnes and Noble in Union Station and bought the book. The book captured me on the first page and wouldn't let go. Now as I work on plans for what I hope to become my Capstone(Thesis) Project, I have a clearer vision of what to look for in my own research. I have sound information on programs that have worked and those that have not and why they haven't. I'm not going to much in this program, I just strongly recommend that you read this book for yourself and find out for yourself what it is I am talking about.
Currently as some of you may know, I am working on research that explores adult education programs, particulary literacy and life skills, that target Sudanese women living in refugee camps. My hope and what I have put countless hours of research, reading, and writing into is a proposal for funding to allow me to actually travel to Chad and do on the ground research of the above mentioned topic. I have always had this itch to work with refugees, but prior to now never quite figured out how. I realized that my work in the Peace Corps has exposed me to just how I am going to work with this population and has helped me figure out why I would want to do this work. I don't think you can fully understand just how the impact of an education can have on a girl until you see the impact for yourself. I had the wonderful opportunity of having two beautiful girls, Chisomo and Martha, who happened to be my students, live with me while in Malawi. Seeing their transformation from before to after really confirmed in my mind that an education can change a life and even if it seems like an insignificant change. I have always found myself working with marginalized populations and now find myself doing research and hoping to work with one of the most marginalized populations- refugees. I have copied and pasted one of my research proposals to give you a brief but hopefully substantial idea of what we are up against. What is even more troubling is that most of the male population has either been killed or recruited to join an army, leaving women with a burden of responsibility to care for the welfare of the family and community. Despite this, there has been a lack of funding placed in education programs for women, these women who have been left behind and marginalized, are now expected to rebuild and develop their country post-conflict. Please tell me how to build a house without hammer and nails? My point exactly...
Exploration of Adult Education Programs for Sudanese Women Residing in Refugee Camps in Chad
Sudan has been intermittently occupied by civil wars on since independence in 1956. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have been murdered, millions displaced. A civil war ignited in Darfur in 2003 has contributed to this displacement; 262,194 people have sought refuge in 12 camps located throughout eastern Chad. Fifty-six percent (56%) of the Sudanese refugees in these refugee camps are women; approximately sixty percent (60%) are children, 18 and under (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2008).
Of the 100,000 children enrolled in type of formal schooling in the camps, only one out 100 girls can expect to complete primary school (Education Partnership for Children of Conflict). The result: a growing illiteracy rate among and an intensification of all the ills associated with women’s illiteracy. Budgetary constraints account for only 12% of the 296 million dollars allocated by the United Nations and other NGOs for refugee camps in service to educational initiatives. Limited dollars translate into targeted and limited educational offerings. UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) have found it necessary to target primary school-aged children as the principal beneficiaries of the limited funds. Only a small percentage of the funding supports adult education. The illiteracy rate of women will continue to increase and related social ills will take an ever increasing toll on the displaced populations.
Access to literacy and life skills programs can have a profound effect on a woman and their children. Schooling that improves literacy for women contributes to lower fertility rates, lower the infant and child mortality rates, lower maternal mortality rates, increased protection against HIV and AIDS infection, increased woman’s participation in the labor force and development initiatives, and increases in intergenerational education benefits. These positive outcomes underscore the significance non-formal education initiatives that target women and illuminate the great need for literacy and life skills programming in the absence of opportunities for formal education.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Homeless Walkathon!
Dear Friends and Family,
On Saturday, November 20, I am walking in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon on the National Mall and I would like to ask you to support me with a tax-deductible donation.
Did you know that nearly 12,000 people in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area are homeless? That total includes families, children, and veterans. These hard economic times are making matters even worse—with 1.35 million children experiencing homelessness in the United States each year.
You and I can help. The Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Program is the largest effort in the nation to raise money and awareness about homelessness. More than a hundred nonprofits will benefit and 100 percent of the money we raise goes to these Help the Homeless beneficiaries. The Walkathon on the National Mall on the Saturday before Thanksgiving has become a Washington, D.C., tradition. I plan to be there and your donation can make the walk even more meaningful.
All you have to do is select the "Click Here to Sponsor Me" button. If you prefer, you can mail contributions in my name to:
CFNCR/Help the Homeless Program
1201 15th Street, NW
Suite 420
Washington, DC 20005
My personal fundraising goal is $100 (I have donated $25 already) but i'm hoping to surpass this goal. In addition, the staff member who raises the most amount of money gets a paid day off! Please help me and help the women served by Calvary Women's Services.
Thank you in advance!
Love,
Courtney
Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/site/TR?px=1230297&pg=personal&fr_id=1370&et=8fQ49wY0zcMSo5dVrElfAQ..&s_tafId=6811
Click here to view the team page for Calvary Women's Services
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/site/TR?team_id=10120&pg=team&fr_id=1370&et=aCOD_Y02U3_2mt223RAXyA..&s_tafId=6811
If you no longer wish to receive email messages sent from your friends on behalf of this organization, please click here or paste this URL into your browser: http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/site/TellFriendOpt?action=optout&toe=2a706f6a1f1dea35ea7fe0c7c41c7f150612ff6397fe351052869c15ef04f318
Forward to a Friend | Unsubscribe | Update Profile
Follow the Help the Homeless Program
Copyright, 2010 Fannie Mae.
All rights reserved.
Fannie Mae is working with the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region (CFNCR), who will assist Fannie Mae in the administration of the Help the Homeless Program. CFNCR is a tax exempt 501 (c) (3) organization (Tax ID# 23-7343119). Your donation is tax deductible as a charitable contribution to the fullest extent of the law.
On Saturday, November 20, I am walking in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon on the National Mall and I would like to ask you to support me with a tax-deductible donation.
Did you know that nearly 12,000 people in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area are homeless? That total includes families, children, and veterans. These hard economic times are making matters even worse—with 1.35 million children experiencing homelessness in the United States each year.
You and I can help. The Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Program is the largest effort in the nation to raise money and awareness about homelessness. More than a hundred nonprofits will benefit and 100 percent of the money we raise goes to these Help the Homeless beneficiaries. The Walkathon on the National Mall on the Saturday before Thanksgiving has become a Washington, D.C., tradition. I plan to be there and your donation can make the walk even more meaningful.
All you have to do is select the "Click Here to Sponsor Me" button. If you prefer, you can mail contributions in my name to:
CFNCR/Help the Homeless Program
1201 15th Street, NW
Suite 420
Washington, DC 20005
My personal fundraising goal is $100 (I have donated $25 already) but i'm hoping to surpass this goal. In addition, the staff member who raises the most amount of money gets a paid day off! Please help me and help the women served by Calvary Women's Services.
Thank you in advance!
Love,
Courtney
Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/site/TR?px=1230297&pg=personal&fr_id=1370&et=8fQ49wY0zcMSo5dVrElfAQ..&s_tafId=6811
Click here to view the team page for Calvary Women's Services
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/site/TR?team_id=10120&pg=team&fr_id=1370&et=aCOD_Y02U3_2mt223RAXyA..&s_tafId=6811
If you no longer wish to receive email messages sent from your friends on behalf of this organization, please click here or paste this URL into your browser: http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/site/TellFriendOpt?action=optout&toe=2a706f6a1f1dea35ea7fe0c7c41c7f150612ff6397fe351052869c15ef04f318
Forward to a Friend | Unsubscribe | Update Profile
Follow the Help the Homeless Program
Copyright, 2010 Fannie Mae.
All rights reserved.
Fannie Mae is working with the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region (CFNCR), who will assist Fannie Mae in the administration of the Help the Homeless Program. CFNCR is a tax exempt 501 (c) (3) organization (Tax ID# 23-7343119). Your donation is tax deductible as a charitable contribution to the fullest extent of the law.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Cracked Pots
This was sent to me by a friend in Malawi and I figured I would share it with you all...
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'” “That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back,you water them.'”
“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'”Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
So, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?'” “That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back,you water them.'”
“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'”Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
So, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
Life Update
I have a few minutes to spare so I figured I would update you all of my comings and goings. You may no longer be interested in my life now that i'm not living in Malawi, but hopefully I can provide just as much excitement for you based out of DC. :)
Life has been quite a rollercoaster since I moved here. The whole job application process I have learned is just not for me. I much prefer that someone give me a job because they know that I am a hardworker and wonderful person, but that is not the case and after sending off over 60 resumes, I was ready to give up. I didn't quite know how difficult the job market was until I HAD to go through the experience. And it sucks. If I had a job, no matter what the job was, how much I liked it, and whether it was a place where I can see myself in 20 years, I would be appreciative of it. I know that for me a person with some great experience under their belt and a college degree it was definetly a humbling experience to go through this process. It made me think more about how slim things can get especially for someone without the qualifications that I have. In the end, about 2 months after moving to DC, I became gainfully employed. I am teaching ESL at a program for international students. I was hired on as a part-time teacher, but when I saw that I was getting only 2 hours a day and then having to commute 2 hours roundtrip, I tried to quit. My boss wouldn't let me and put me as a part-time substitute guaranteeing slightly more hours in a week and longer work days. It was working out perfectly until one teacher quit and I picked up their full-time hours. So through next Tuesday I will be working full-time. I recently began my training for my other job at Calvary Women's Services, they provide services to homeless women. I am a Program Manager for their transitional living program. The transitional living program has a capacity of 10 women all who have some sort of mental illness or substance abuse problem. They stay at Pathways(name of transitional living shelter) for 2 years. Upon intake they are given a case manager who oversees their journey through the program. It reminds me of my work at The Campus for Human Development(where I was working prior to Malawi) except it is only women and a smaller population. I'm more excited about working with Calvary because it lies more with my interests and it has a stronger feel of community to it.
So i'm sure you're wondering what about school? I am still in school and it is going well. I'm going part-time this semester, which was probably the smartest thing on my part.Thanks to my Peace Corps experience I get 6 credits towards my degree, so that cuts my schooling down from 2 1/2 years to 2. My professors are passionate about what they do and very knowledgeable in their fields. Although their teaching styles I may not always agree with, they still get their points across and I am enjoying the challenge and being in an academic environment again. I'm sure folks are wondering what i'm studying and really its a mouthful, but here it goes. I am in the ITEP, or INTERNATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAM, my track within the program is INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT and my focus is GENDER and LITERACY. Now i'm sure what you are wondering what I plan or want to do with this degree. I want to create and implement education programs, my target is women ages 15+ and focusing on literacy initiatives. Although that is what I want to do, as long as I have the opportunity to create education programs for anyone I would be happy. I would love to go into a community, learn about the people, the culture, the way of living, see the needs and then create an education program that meets the needs of those people with the resources available. Essentially I want to be a paid Peace Corps Volunteer. :) I have attached a proposal I have been working on for a project that I want to do, it will give you more of an idea of what my future work may entail.
I am no longer living out of suitcase and it feels good to be settled. After looking for places and having no success, I decided that it wasn't good for my mental health to keep getting these various rejections so instead of letting someone else deem whether or not I am good enough to live with them or within their space, I decided to turn the table and be the one to make that decision. I placed an ad on Craigslist stating what I was looking for and waited for the responses. It was nice to have my power of choice back and I made the choice to live a motivational speaker-Sylvia Baffour(look her, up she's a pretty interesting person). So far so good. We're both pretty chill people and have a good understanding of what a roommate situation entails. She is no Stacy and Shannon(my roommates prior to leaving for Malawi) but she will do just fine.
Now that I have all my ducks in order, I am making preparations to take off. I feel all that I am capable of inside of me, all of the things that I envision myself doing waiting to happen, and now that I have my feet firmly planted on the ground, I am ready to take this world on.
Life has been quite a rollercoaster since I moved here. The whole job application process I have learned is just not for me. I much prefer that someone give me a job because they know that I am a hardworker and wonderful person, but that is not the case and after sending off over 60 resumes, I was ready to give up. I didn't quite know how difficult the job market was until I HAD to go through the experience. And it sucks. If I had a job, no matter what the job was, how much I liked it, and whether it was a place where I can see myself in 20 years, I would be appreciative of it. I know that for me a person with some great experience under their belt and a college degree it was definetly a humbling experience to go through this process. It made me think more about how slim things can get especially for someone without the qualifications that I have. In the end, about 2 months after moving to DC, I became gainfully employed. I am teaching ESL at a program for international students. I was hired on as a part-time teacher, but when I saw that I was getting only 2 hours a day and then having to commute 2 hours roundtrip, I tried to quit. My boss wouldn't let me and put me as a part-time substitute guaranteeing slightly more hours in a week and longer work days. It was working out perfectly until one teacher quit and I picked up their full-time hours. So through next Tuesday I will be working full-time. I recently began my training for my other job at Calvary Women's Services, they provide services to homeless women. I am a Program Manager for their transitional living program. The transitional living program has a capacity of 10 women all who have some sort of mental illness or substance abuse problem. They stay at Pathways(name of transitional living shelter) for 2 years. Upon intake they are given a case manager who oversees their journey through the program. It reminds me of my work at The Campus for Human Development(where I was working prior to Malawi) except it is only women and a smaller population. I'm more excited about working with Calvary because it lies more with my interests and it has a stronger feel of community to it.
So i'm sure you're wondering what about school? I am still in school and it is going well. I'm going part-time this semester, which was probably the smartest thing on my part.Thanks to my Peace Corps experience I get 6 credits towards my degree, so that cuts my schooling down from 2 1/2 years to 2. My professors are passionate about what they do and very knowledgeable in their fields. Although their teaching styles I may not always agree with, they still get their points across and I am enjoying the challenge and being in an academic environment again. I'm sure folks are wondering what i'm studying and really its a mouthful, but here it goes. I am in the ITEP, or INTERNATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAM, my track within the program is INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT and my focus is GENDER and LITERACY. Now i'm sure what you are wondering what I plan or want to do with this degree. I want to create and implement education programs, my target is women ages 15+ and focusing on literacy initiatives. Although that is what I want to do, as long as I have the opportunity to create education programs for anyone I would be happy. I would love to go into a community, learn about the people, the culture, the way of living, see the needs and then create an education program that meets the needs of those people with the resources available. Essentially I want to be a paid Peace Corps Volunteer. :) I have attached a proposal I have been working on for a project that I want to do, it will give you more of an idea of what my future work may entail.
I am no longer living out of suitcase and it feels good to be settled. After looking for places and having no success, I decided that it wasn't good for my mental health to keep getting these various rejections so instead of letting someone else deem whether or not I am good enough to live with them or within their space, I decided to turn the table and be the one to make that decision. I placed an ad on Craigslist stating what I was looking for and waited for the responses. It was nice to have my power of choice back and I made the choice to live a motivational speaker-Sylvia Baffour(look her, up she's a pretty interesting person). So far so good. We're both pretty chill people and have a good understanding of what a roommate situation entails. She is no Stacy and Shannon(my roommates prior to leaving for Malawi) but she will do just fine.
Now that I have all my ducks in order, I am making preparations to take off. I feel all that I am capable of inside of me, all of the things that I envision myself doing waiting to happen, and now that I have my feet firmly planted on the ground, I am ready to take this world on.
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