Social Cause 01 (Jul 08 - Jul 15)

[behappyalways]

Lizzie Velasquez, 23, was bullied because of her rare condition.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/texa ... t-17229261

[winston]

“Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

– Margaret Mead

[winston]

Police kill Liaoning homeowner defying demolition

Police in northeast China shot and killed a homeowner who set himself on fire while trying to protect his property from a demolition crew, an official and state media said.

Government-backed land grabs have become China's most volatile social problem as officials and developers seek to cash in on the property boom, sometimes forcing people out of their homes without proper compensation, AFP reports.

In the latest incident, Wang Shujie, 36, set himself ablaze after seeing his father shot and wounded, and started towards a policeman who opened fire, according to the China Daily.

The father had tried to wrestle the policeman's gun from him after he fired warning shots into the air as the protest in Panjin, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, began to get restive, the newspaper said.

A local government official in Panjin confirmed Friday's killing to AFP, but refused to go into details pending an inquiry.

But the People's Daily – the official newspaper of the Communist Party – said on its microblog a preliminary investigation concluded the
policeman's actions were justified.

The China Daily said that with land disputes becoming more frequent, the government has forbidden housing demolitions without the owners' consent, while police have been banned from intervening to protect developers in such rows.

But the rules appear to be often ignored.

Source: The Standard HK

[winston]

India's 50,000 missing children by Rupam Jain Nair

According to recent crime data, 14 children go missing in New Delhi every day, at least six of whom are victims of human trafficking.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says around 1.2 million children are victims of child trafficking across the world every year.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

One in eight of world population going hungry: U.N.

ROME (Reuters) - One out of every eight people in the world is chronically undernourished, the United Nations' food agencies said on Tuesday, and aid groups warned that rising food prices could reverse gains in the fight against hunger.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/ ... healthNews

[winston]

China forced evictions on the rise: rights group

Violent forced evictions are increasing in China as local governments seek to pay off debts by seizing land and selling usage rights to property developers, Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday.

The report, "Standing Their Ground", said growing numbers of Chinese have been forced from their homes in both rural and urban areas, with evictees sometimes beaten, imprisoned, or even killed at the hands of authorities.

"The pace of forced evictions has only accelerated over the past three years," said the report, which the human rights group said was based on media reports and interviews with rights activists, lawyers and academics.

It said the increase in evictions stemmed in part from a construction boom stoked by a government stimulus program implemented to ward off the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

It is only through sacrifice, that you can create something or change the world.

~ Dr. Pillai

[winston]

Afghan child brides under UN spotlight

Greater efforts must be made to protect girls in Afghanistan, where nearly half are married as child brides and almost one in six weds before they turn 15, the United Nations said Thursday.

"Early marriage is a fundamental violation of human rights and impacts all aspects of a girl's life," a group of UN organisations said in a statement to mark the International Day of the Girl Child.

"Child marriage is defined as any marriage carried out below the age of 18 years, before the girl is psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and physically prepared to bear children," the statement said.

Despite progress in the past 10 years, the UN says Afghanistan's maternal mortality rate is still 327 per 100,000 live births -- one of the worst in the world.

"Girls aged 10-14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20-24," the statement said.

Source: AFP South Asian Edition

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

Denying girls school entrenches poverty: report by Sebastian Smith

Millions of girls worldwide are condemned to lives of hardship because they don't go to school, an education gap that entrenches broader extreme poverty, a new report said.

The report, "Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2012," was released in New York by Plan International on the first International Day of the Girl organized by the United Nations.

"The estimated 75 million girls missing from classrooms across the world is a major violation of rights and a huge waste of young potential," the child poverty alleviation group said in launching the report.

A total of one in three girls is denied education, but Plan's report focuses especially on 39 million girls aged between 11 and 15, right on the cusp of becoming young women, who are out of school.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

Please pray for this poor 14 year old girl that was shot by the Taliban ...

Shot Pakistani girl 'still on ventilator'

A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban remained on a ventilator in hospital Saturday, as people continued to pray for her recovery, the military said.

The shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, who campaigned for the right to an education, has been denounced worldwide and by the Pakistani authorities, who have offered a reward of more than $100,000 for the capture of her attackers.

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281