What does “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” mean to you? What I know first-hand about childhood is that mine didn’t happen in a nurturing environment, so I sought and received approval and support from the loving parents of my childhood friends. They were, and still are, my village. It doesn’t take an …
Tag: social empowerment
Jun 04
Why Education for Girls is a Worthwhile Investment
“First, I think girls’ education may be the single most cost-effective kind of aid work. It’s cheap, it opens minds, it gives girls new career opportunities and ways to generate cash, it leads them to have fewer children and invest more in those children, and it tends to bring women from the shadows into the …
Jun 03
Looking Back on China (1): Hello China?
“Are you a spy?” My supervising attorney asked me this when I was volunteering in the Pima County Superior Court. I told him I came here to study law, the field of which has been regarded as the realm of the elites in this society. Obviously, he could not figure out why I, a foreigner …
May 31
Election Results Destabilizing Malaysia
During the fall, I interned for a candidate running for congress. In the end my candidate did not win and though I was sad and even furious that the opposition won, it was a done deal.There may be certain aspects of the American election process that are unclear and corrupt, we might talk with our …
May 29
The Homelessness Series: Whose Story is Really Being Told?
In an appearance at the Washington, D.C., Politics and Prose bookstore, Ehrenreich informed an adoring audience that previous attempts she’d made to pitch books about poverty to magazine and book editors had most commonly met with failure. Poverty wasn’t interesting to their readers, the editors had told her. This book, she said, was different; it …
May 28
Born with the wrong parts: When genitalia doesn’t define gender
In nearly every picture from my childhood I am wearing ballet leotards or a tutu, mostly because I studied ballet as a child, but also because I identified with the ballerina. It was my “girl” thing, and the ballerina represented the woman I wanted to become. My brother always appears wearing a baseball cap or …
Apr 18
The Homelessness Series: Back on My Feet
Anne Mahlum is a runner. Always has been. And in the early mornings of spring 2007, you could often find her running the sidewalks of Philadelphia, before heading to work for the day. On her runs, she would pass apartment buildings, businesses, and even a homeless shelter, which was just a couple blocks away. She …
Mar 21
The Homelessness Series: The Pursuit of Happyness
I’m just going to start off with the disclaimer: I love the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. I really do. However, I have one major objection to the film, which I would like to discuss with you. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, here’s the SparkNotes version: A man named Chris Gardner …
Mar 07
The NRA, Gun Owners, Advocates for Gun Control: Why Not Work Together?
There is no doubt that that the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., has heightened the political debate on gun control in the United States. The Obama-backed gun bills are considered a long shot in Congress. This is due to the opposing views on gun control in congress. One group in Congress is standing behind the …
Feb 22
The Dark Side of Social Media
Let’s talk about social media. Do you have Facebook? Twitter? I’m going to guess almost definitely. But are you extremely plugged in? With Pinterest? Foursquare? Instagram? Maybe somewhat less likely but the odds are still pretty high. I’ll admit, I use all of the social media outlets (plus a few more). So needless to say …