Foreign Aid and Political Issues

Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

One issue that I have found very interesting recently has been involving the recent Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act that has been passed and how it has affected foreign aid to this developing country.  This issue has caused organizations to make a decision regarding their guidelines for providing aid.  Many organizations give aid to this country due to the low GDP and to assist the nation in its continuing development efforts.  However, many organizations have felt that the enactment of this new bill does not line up with the values of the organization and have expressed a desire to withhold aid as a result of the passage of this law.  This article by the UN News Centre sites public health as a huge concern due to the high level of people living with HIV/AIDS in the nation.  With 1.5 million people living with HIV in Uganda, treatment is a huge concern due to studies that show that "when gay people face discrimination including abuse, incarceration and prosecution, they are less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention and treatment services" (UN).  The World Bank has postponed a $90 million loan to Uganda for maternal health, newborn care, and family planning due to the enactment of the new law.  The organization has concerns that the new law will "affect our projects and our gay and lesbian staff members" (BBC).  

Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

The backlash experienced by this issue however, seemed to be anticipated by the lawmaker who first proposed the bill.  Overall, this bill was widely liked by the citizens of the nation, and the lawmaker believes that these withdraws of support are worth the preservation of the nation's moral values.  Whether a person agrees with the new law or does not however, I believe the most important thing to look at is how the average citizen's life will be hurt or made better by the enactment of the law.  Nonprofits and aid organizations additionally have to evaluate how their organization's values fall into line with any decision the government has made.  These widespread implications make politics and aid interesting topics to dig deeper into and to continue to follow closely.  

Micro-lending

Courtesy of Unbound

Thursday night, I was able to attend an Unbound event, featuring Lillian, a woman working in Kenya as the director of the mother's groups for Unbound's Nairobi project. Lillian is an energetic woman with an eye for what really goes on in the sponsored families' homes. She grew up in a family with nine children in Mombasa, Kenya, which allows her to connect her own experiences with others around her. The event enabled people in the community to learn more about Unbound, the micro-lending program through mother's groups, and to socialize.

Courtesy of Unboud

The program began with time to socialize and then after an introduction by Elizabeth Alex, Director of New Channels, and Scott Wasserman, the newly elected CEO, Lillian began to talk about herself and her projects through compelling and entertaining stories using straight-forward language. Unbound's mother's  programs allow mothers of sponsored children in a community to meet together to support each other under the umbrella of the unbound community. These mothers represent their families, meeting once a month to discuss their community and what they can do to support them. 

Courtesy of Unbound

The most unique part about this group is their micro-lending programs. The women are encouraged to donate just about $1.10 per month to a group "pool", which unbound matches. At any given time, a mother can approach the group to request a loan to start their own business, expand a business, pay for a child's school tuition, or pay for medical expenses. 70% of the loans requested are to support businesses. These businesses may be raising poultry, farming, providing laundry services, or perhaps creating necklace and bracelets through intricate bead work. The loans allow the women to make the investment needed to start these businesses and then make money to support the family. 

Courtesy of Unbound

Lillian shared how important this income is to the family in this way: if a family does not have a steady job, the mother or father might go out in the community to find a job as a daily laborer. If they come home without having found a job, this also means that the family will not have a meal to feed their children. Lillian shared stories of mothers placing a pot on the stove without starting the fire, and then when their children ask "Mom, when is dinner" she simply says, "Its being cooked, just be patient". Eventually the children fall asleep without realizing they didn't have dinner, carrying them over into another day. These tactics are heart-breaking for these mothers and can cause fights for the parents. By allowing the mothers to start their own business, they no longer have to worry about whether or not they can provide a meal for their family, which provides huge ripple effects for everyone in the community. 

Weekend Activities (part 3)

#5: Fine Arts events

Throughout the city, there are also many opportunities to explore the fine arts.  From the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, to the UMKC Conservatory, there are countless chances to see an Opera, the Ballet, or a play directed by Kansas City's own. Almost every weekend, I will look over at the Visit KC website, and there are several plays and various types of performances available to enjoy.  While I have only been able to attend a few of these types of performances, there are consistently opportunities for people to see these events across a huge spectrum of costs and locations. From free concerts on the plaza and at colleges to events you pay a much higher price for at the Kauffman Center. 

#6: Concerts

Throughout my time at Rockhurst, I have also attended many concerts. From my very first concert
of Flogging Molly at the Uptown Theater in March of my freshman year, to the concert I am seeing this weekend- Infected Mushroom at the Midland- a gift to my boyfriend, I have taken advantage of the music scene in Kansas City. There are often many free concerts at the Power and Light district such as their line of concerts during the summer on Thursday and Friday nights. (Country on Thursdays and more pop/dance music on Fridays) I saw Silversun Pickups as part of the MLS week, and Icona Pop for these reasons! There are also the fair share of more expensive "big name" concerts at the Sprint Center on a regular basis. 

Overall, my time living in Kansas City has been full of numerous types of ways to spend my evenings and weekends. People are never left to have nothing to do on weekends in the city- so staying busy is never a problem! 

Weekend Activities (part 2)

#2: Nelson- Atkins Art Museum

A sunset in front of some of the permanent outside art

This museum, located less than a mile from the university, allows free entry to see all of the permanent exhibits at all times.  With a large lawn with permanent art installations that provide entertainment in addition to the huge collections inside, this museum has entertained me for many afternoons and evenings throughout my time at Rockhurst.  Many students will also use the front lawn to host frisbee tournaments, picnics, and general opportunities to meet up with group of people on a nice afternoon.

#4: Festivals (Renaissance Festival, Fiesta Hispana, Plaza Art Fair etc)

Over the years, I have been able to attend numerous festivals, fairs, and other events around the city.  The Renaissance Festival- while among the most expensive of the events I'll share- was a lot of fun for my family and I.  (My parents last visited while my mom was pregnant with me!) Between the costumes of other attendees, jousting tournaments, hundreds of booths for Renaissance themed food and gifts, camel rides, and jesters; the whole day was filled with entertaining activities.  

My brother was the happiest I've ever seen him riding
a camel at the Renaissance Festival

Fiesta Hispana in the downtown area was my first experience with a Spanish-themed festival with booths selling food and items from many different cultures from Latin America, in addition to performances and artists.  The Plaza Art Fair (along with the Westport Art Fair, and the Brookside Art Fair, among others) features booths from artists from all around the country in addition to deals offered by restaurants and stores in the area is always a great chance to walk around and soak up the art culture in Kansas City.  

You never know what you'd find at Fiesta Hispana

My mom, brother, and I at the Renaissance Festival

Fiesta Hispana- downtown

Weekend Activities (part 1)

Oftentimes, I like to talk about the different opportunities that there are around Kansas City for recreational and cultural activities.  The next few weeks, I want to go through many of these that I have been able to take advantage of over the past few years.

#1: First Fridays

Since my first year at Rockhurst, I have regularly gone to First Fridays in the Crossroads District.  First Fridays takes place, exactly as stated, from 7-9 pm the first Friday of every month.  Countless art showrooms open up their doors to the public to view the art.  Additionally, many restaurants in the area (Christopher Elbow Chocolate among them) have special deals at the time of this event for the public.  Street artists and performers also make appearances throughout the area making it a whole evening affair that can be incredibly enjoyable for many students, visitors, and residents alike.  Over time, my friends and I developed a pattern of visiting favorite showrooms and favorite areas to walk through.  We would also plan the event around dinner or an evening watching movie favorites for a great start to the month!

#3: National World War I Museum

Just this last weekend, I was able to visit the National World War I Museum for the first time.  After purchasing a Living Social deal giving me half price tickets, my boyfriend and I spent the large part of the day exploring the museum.  It was recently renovated and it including educational videos and interactive exhibits, which brought pieces of the history alive and allowed for a cohesive experience involving the artifacts and the history behind the progression of events throughout the war.  There were also several temporary exhibits and a gorgeous view overlooking the city from the top of the Liberty Memorial.  The small cost was definitely worth the experience at this museum.

Continued part 2 next week....

Last first week

Syllabus week- this is what most students call the first week of the semester in which most classes spend the majority of the time going over the syllabus and outlining the rest of the semester. This week is always an enjoyable transition, because it provides a chance to hang out with friends for a while before getting into the full swing of the semester.  This semester, I am taking several different classes- two accounting courses, a communication, a management, and a business course each.  It will be a full semester with 15 hours and 20 hours a week working.  While many students do manage a much busier schedule, I am excited to have a full schedule, yet with time to enjoy my last semester.

Spring semester also tends to go much more quickly than the fall semester.  I think this is a result of two different things.  First of all, we lose almost an entire week for actually taking classes.  Secondly, I think that with an entire week off in the middle of spring semester, it divides the semester so that both "sections" are fairly short.  However, many students also have troubles getting back into the semester after such a long break.

I recently learned that 40% of our campus is involved in a fraternity or sorority- this huge portion of our campus is especially busy this time of the year as they start to welcome new freshmen as potential new sisters (or brothers as the case may be). This whole new group of students being involved means that there are a huge number of people very involved during this semester.

A group of representatives from various sororities on Bid Day

Support in all Forms

Throughout my time at Rockhurst, I have always been impressed by the excellent support that is provided for the students by the faculty and staff (and of course other students).  However, in the last month of classes, I have seen a lot of this first hand.

First of all, I apologize for the very late blog post.  Shortly after my last post, my maternal grandfather passed away.  This fairly sudden loss in my family, shortly before the end of the semester, provided a lot of stress in my entire family's life.  This difficult time also coincided with finals week for my siblings and I, which meant many projects and papers due at the same time.  The professors however, were so incredibly supportive, and allowed me to complete a few of the projects on my own timeline.  Other staff members offered their condolences and students texted me to offer their support while I went back home to be with my family for the funeral.  I have been so incredibly grateful for all of their kind words and their kind support.

Winter break has been (as I'm sure for many students) going by much more quickly than I may have hoped.  While many have taken the chance to work or travel, I have enjoyed most of the break back in western Kansas.  I know that if everything goes according to plan, I won't be able to take 2 weeks or more off in order to just relax between stressful times, so  I'm very happy to take this time off!  So I will share a few pictures from the break!

My car got snowed in the first weekend of break!

Christmas day games & candy with my mom's side!

My dad holding our new family dog Belle!

Sushi date with my dad!

Cuddle time with my boyfriend and his family's dog