Wednesday, November 28, 2012

KINDLES in AFRICA

Check out this incredible article about the power of the KINDLE in African education...love seeing technology bring opportunity and change...

In the remote village of Adeiso, Ghana, when a bright child such as 14-year-old Emefa asks for something new to read, the answer is usually, “Maybe, in a few years, if the shipment arrives, there will be something.” This is typical of sub-Saharan Africa, where lack of access to books is one of the biggest limiting factors for a child’s future.
But because of new technology, this may be changing.
That’s the hope of Worldreader, a non-profit organization devoted to using Kindles to bring books—and the life-changing, power-creating ideas within them—to all in the developing world. “We are working in a part of the world where there are no books,” says Susan Moody of Worldreader. “With Kindles, you go from empty libraries and children unable to get their hands on reading material, to suddenly being able to carry a library around with them in their hand.”
Why Kindles? Susan explains: “The Kindle is a device that was made for you and me to use on the bus and at night in our beds, but it’s a device that actually meets the needs of the developing world very nicely. Kindles have become increasingly affordable, the battery-life can be as long as a month, and they are easily recharged using wind or solar energy. Since they use cell-phone networks to operate, which are already omnipresent even in the remotest parts of Africa, they don’t require new infrastructure in the schools. And the kids can read them outside, even in the brightest sunlight.”
“Best of all,” continues Susan, “one Kindle holds more than a thousand books, and new books can be downloaded in 60 seconds. That means printing costs disappear, and shipping gets reduced to nearly nothing. Suddenly it becomes feasible to imagine every child having access not only to books, but to a choice between thousands of books from all over the world.”
The situation at Adeiso Junior High, where Emefa is a student, was bleak. “They were one of the schools lucky enough to have a library, but the library had very few books, and 10 of them were The History of Utah,” says Susan. “While book drives are often meant with the best of intentions, often times the books that arrive aren't the ones that will inspire a child to read more.” Last year, when Worldreader brought Kindles to the kids at Adeiso, each one was loaded with hundreds of children’s stories and local Ghanaian folk tales, in English as well as Twi, the local language.
“The children could operate the Kindle within minutes. They are used to operating cell phones, so the gadgetry wasn’t foreign to them. Within minutes kids were downloading books and reading.”
When Emefa finished one book and asked for another, the answer was one she wasn’t expecting. “Sure! Just push this button…”
So with all their new choices, what are the kids reading? “We see that children love to read stories about things that are impacting them,” says Susan, “stories about how to care for a friend that has malaria, and other everyday problems in their lives. They are reading local books by local writers, while at the same time they are exploring ideas from around the world. They are reading Curious George, they are downloading samples from international newspapers, and they are even reading things like Jay Z’s autobiography.”
Mohamed Aminou, a teacher at Adeiso Junior High School, was one of the first to use the Kindle in his classroom. “From the very day that the children had this Kindle in their hand, you could see that they were motivated. They take it everywhere they go, and they are reading, and they have delight in what they are reading. The ability of children to read more, also to read ahead— that ability has increased. It has gone high!” Mohamed hopes that soon Kindles will arrive for all the children. “The school would be flooded with kids if that should happen.”
Worldreader has brought over 200,000 e-books to children in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, and their new goal is to increase that number to a million. They are working with publishers and companies like Amazon, who donated the initial Kindles, delivered the e-books using Whispercast, and has recently increased its support with additional free Kindles and free cloud computing from Amazon Web Services.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving for Mission

Today is Thanksgiving 2012...having traveled again this past May to Zambia I am still freshly reminded of the truly remarkable material and physical blessings my life features...wealth and health and food and clean water and housing and transportation and entertainment and medicines and education and comfort so, so far beyond the wildest dreams and imaginations of the vast majority of the people in our world...

In a week away from my work world and our daily life in Grand Rapids, I am reminded how much I love being with my kids and my wife...there's nothing greater than relishing being a family together...

And in 2012, I am remarkably grateful for a mission, a life calling, a purpose in my life and my career that connects and flows from the heart of the One who has created, redeemed, and empowered even me to be part of His compelling and beautiful and most satisfying vision for our world and lives...

I'm thankful for the privilege to introduce people to the transforming and life-saving and life-giving words and example of the man, the Lord of all named Jesus...

I'm thankful for the chance I have daily to invest in and develop future and present leaders who will be incredible voices and vision-casters for the church for generations to come as they discover and begin to use their strengths and passions...

I'm thankful for the chance to seek to be part of building a community of young men into a model of athletic excellence and surprising character as we play the beautiful game in a very different way on and off the pitch...

I'm thankful that diseases like HIV/AIDS and MALARIA and issues like extreme poverty and modern-day slavery and oppression have gripped the heart and then moved the hands of hundreds of students on our campus and millions across the world as we seek to help God's Kingdom emerge in every place and person on our planet...

I'm thankful to have the chance learn about and then communicate together with colleagues near and far about the spiritual journey of this next generation of students inside and outside the church walls...

I'm thankful to work toward creating a dynamic and life-changing four years plus where young adults are prepared for cultural and global engagement in all arenas and all settings after their college experience...

I'm thankful for dozens and dozens of lunches at QDOBA and coffees at Starbucks with current and former students and staff members working through life's challenges and changes and opportunities as our lives are WRECKED and RESTORED by a God who remains good and present thru it all...

I'm thankful for the chance to teach and debate and search the Scriptures together in academic settings looking at global issues of poverty and justice...

And I'm thankful for a mission in this life that isn't just temporary or unfulfilling or empty or shallow or boring or short-term in nature...may God's grand mission for my life continue to be a beacon of light and the clearest of voices in the days and years to come...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...






Monday, November 12, 2012

MONDAY...A Soccer Season Reflection

Today is Monday...the start of another week, and another day closer to winter weather and the soon coming Holiday season...

But to be honest, it's a different Monday than any other because we are not going to be together on the field as a CU men's soccer community...for the first time since August 10th we won't be in season...

We won't be thinking about an upcoming match or which passing sequences we will be doing to start up practice at 330 pm...

To be honest, this Monday always comes too early...and perhaps more than ever in 2012...because we fully expected to be practicing today and playing in a NAIA National Tournament game this coming weekend...our players had done everything possible to put us in the place for that to happen...

Today came too soon because our season ended so suddenly, so quickly, and so harshly when a 5th penalty kick in a Championship match found the back of the next on an amazing Friday night on our home field in front of all our family and friends and classmates...

But in the midst of lingering disappointment and many thoughts of what could and should have been, today also brings so much joy as we think over the last 3 months...and ultimately 4 years in this soccer community...

We celebrate 14-3-2 this year, back to back WHAC conference titles, so many golden goal wins, and perhaps the finest classes of players we have ever had in our current senior group...

We celebrate young men who enter as freshman and now leave as men of character and commitment and authentic faith who will bring great good to the people and places God calls them next...

We celebrate over 6000 families in Africa and a community and school in the Dominican Republic that will never be the same because a group of soccer players believed that Scripture's call to care for the least of them invited them to use the platform of soccer to take on global giants like malaria and HIV and extreme poverty...

And we celebrate the word legacy...a legacy that leaves for all to see beautiful and passionate soccer, a fun loving spirit giving life to a campus, future doctors and lawyers and teachers and coaches and future business leaders who learned what they needed to do in CU classrooms, and so, so many relationships that have changed the lives of their teammates and their coaches in transforming ways...

These are the things we think about today and give praise to our God for as we reflect on 14 seniors who have changed the face of a soccer program, the athletic community of a university, and global village communities on the other side of the world ...

Today is also a day where we watch our seniors leave the locker room meeting while many other CU soccer players stay on the locker room benches...

This is the day where the baton is passed to a new group of seniors and a new group of players and leaders...it's a day filled with hope and to be honest some apprehension about what happens next season...

Today offers a chance for players to work harder than ever before in the next 9 months so we can do the unthinkable thing called a WHAC Conference THREE-PEAT...

Today offers a chance to read and talk and pray together in small groups this spring to develop accountability and get on the same page spiritually as a group of Jesus followers...

Today offers the chance to travel to Zambia and use one's soccer gifts and compassionate heart to bring healing and hope among truly amazing people in a beautiful land...

Today offers the chance to grow NIGHT OF NETS into something truly a community event as we invite more people, more teams, more churches to come together to provide nets that do indeed change lives...

And today offers the remarkable challenge and opportunity to build a new legacy, for new players to emerge as outstanding college soccer players, to keep the locker room as the living room for a family, and for dynamic graduating leaders to be replaced by a new group of young men who will follow the example and continue the model left behind by those who they have watched in previous seasons...

Today is a very different day, a difficult day...and a day that is the first day of a new chapter in the continuing story God is writing in the lives of past and present members of  the Cornerstone men's soccer community...

I for one, can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring as we build on yesterday...


Philippians 1:3-8 (New Living Translation)

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.



Thursday, November 8, 2012

Ten foreign aid goals for the president


As President Obama prepares for his next term, World Vision recommends these international assistance objectives.

By Robert Zachritz, World Vision U.S. senior director of advocacy and government relations

It’s been a hotly contested election campaign, and the major issues have been debated endlessly. But one area of policy has been overlooked — foreign aid. Although foreign assistance composes only about 1 percent of the federal budget, it makes an enormous difference in saving lives, reducing poverty, preventing conflict, and creating goodwill. So what should the next administration’s foreign aid agenda look like? World Vision suggests the following priorities:

1. Don’t cut aid
During the next presidential term, there will be huge pressure to reduce the deficit. But it is crucial to preserve global humanitarian accounts. In addition to lifting millions out of poverty, effective foreign aid helps create a more peaceful and prosperous world that ultimately serves the security and economic interests of the United States. Cutting foreign aid is like
shooting yourself in the foot.

2. End preventable child deaths
This has already proved to be a quick win. In the 1960s, preventable child deaths were around 23 million. In 2009, this number came down to 9.1 million. Today the figure is about 6.9 million, despite a growing global population. The president can accelerate the decline by supporting relatively inexpensive programs that combat the biggest child killers — namely diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria.

3. Lead the fight against slavery
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPRA) created the first comprehensive federal law to address modernday slavery. It helps prevent trafficking of children and adults into the sex trade and other forms of exploitative labor, and it enables prosecution of traffickers and protection of survivors. Every few years, the act needs to be reauthorized to close loopholes and maintain funding for its enforcement. Last year, this vital piece of legislation expired as a result of congressional partisanship. The president should ensure
reauthorization and restore U.S. leadership in the global fight against slavery.

4. Make poverty history
In 2000, world leaders agreed to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that sought the radical reduction of the most extreme forms of poverty. The goals include items such as achieving universal primary education and reducing child mortality. Great progress has been made, but the goals expire in 2015. Discussions have begun on what comes next. The president should take a leading role in formulating new goals that build on the successes of the MDGs.

5. Feed the hungry
At the 2009 G8 Summit in Italy, leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations pledged $22 billion for agricultural development to help ensure the world produces enough food to feed its growing population. The initiative was called “Feed the Future.” The president should continue this good work and accelerate investment in agriculture and effective nutrition programs —particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which suffers the greatest food shortages.

6. Give peace a chance
Some 1.5 billion people live in fragile states bedeviled by recurring conflict. These states account for 71 percent of under-5 deaths; 77 percent of children not in primary school; and 65 percent of people without access to safe water. The president must facilitate resolution and mediation of these festering disputes through increased diplomacy and support for local and international mediation efforts.

7. Combat AIDS and malaria
President George W. Bush created the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). President Obama has continued both of these life-saving programs, though funding has remained flat. The president should bolster investment in both programs, allowing for the expansion of treatment and prevention efforts and the saving of many more lives.

8. Seek justice
The president should prioritize the promotion of democratic reforms and functioning court systems. This includes respect for human rights, speedy trials, and trial by jury, as well as prevention of unreasonable seizure of property, excessive bail demands, and cruel and unusual punishments. If citizens are confident that there are fair systems to protect life and
property, it fosters peace and stability.

9. Get more bang for bucks
Making the most effective use of limited global development dollars is a continuing challenge. The president and Congress should invest in aid programs that demonstrate transparency and good results. If necessary, they should insist on progress toward democracy and reduced corruption as a condition of assistance.

10. Work together
Global poverty can only be successfully met by combining resources and expertise. In Zambia, a partnership involving the U.S. and Zambian governments, businesses, and several humanitarian organizations developed a program called RAPIDS that delivered life-saving assistance to thousands suffering from AIDS. The president should seek to partner with businesses, foundations, universities, humanitarian organizations, and faith-based organizations to meet the world’s most pressing needs.

http://www.worldvision.org/news/president-elect-winner-foreign-aid?open&campaign=105418219