Sharing Web Resources

After several weeks I finally received an e-mail from one of my contacts that I had sent an e-mail to. He suggested that I try this website to find the answers that I have been looking for. The sight is called World Bank.org. Inside the educational site, I found the following sections that were relevant to our discussion this week. They are: The economics of Education and the science technology and innovation. Education is universally recognized as one of the most fundamental building blocks for human development and human development and poverty reduction. It is the key to obtaining the millennium development goal. This statement is not only so powerful but it is true. By going to the different sections, we are able to access other information on why it is so important that our economists, neuroscientists, or politicians do their part in giving the support that is needed to give the child the quality development that he should receive. That one person cannot do it all. The issues and trends are just as many as other countries. The difference that I see is that they have a better support group there. They take the issues more seriously than we do.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

Introduce your conversation partners (or the podcast participant) to your colleagues –I was hoping  to hear from my contacts ,but have not, and  since I have not yet received a response, I chose the Alternative, which is to go to the website of the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s page (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/), read about childhood poverty in one country, and share at least three insights or ideas I gained from studying the website. I was very pleased to see that China (one of the country I was listed) was given as a choice.

Share what you have learned so far from these exchanges (or from the podcast and website) three ideas I gained from studying the website about China is that 1.) China receives more foreign investment than any other country in the world except for the US. 2.) An estimated 14.6 million are without a full-time job - an unemployment rate of 12.3 per cent.  In addition to this, inflation in the early 1990s and the introduction of charges for health and education services increased pressures on many households. Liberalizations have also led to massive migration, as over 120 million people have moved to the cities since 1990, in search of better opportunities and 3.)As the structure of the economy has changed, the social security system has had to adapt to protect people from different forms of poverty. Up to 1992, in urban areas, only people without work, with no savings and with no family to depend on were eligible for financial support.  A Minimum Living Standards (dibao) system has been developed since 1997 and by 2002 covered 23 per cent of poor urban households.
 Describe your new insights and information about issues of poverty. The new insights that I learned  about was very interesting and they really brought to light some facts about China that I  was not aware of, such as the fact that they received more foreign investments than any other country. The fact that due to Liberalization, massive migration happened. I thought it was rather interesting that people in China have to be TOTALLY BROKE to receive any kind of financial assistant. China has made major strides in poverty reduction in recent years. By 2001 5 per cent of China's population lived below the national poverty line. Between 4 and 8 per cent of the urban population, somewhere between 15 and 31 million people live in poverty. Much of this decline in poverty is due to far-reaching processes of economic and social transition However; economic growth has been slower in Western China, leading to higher poverty rates. China's transition from a centrally planned to a globalized market economy has helped reduce chronic poverty and disadvantage, but also created new forms of vulnerability and poverty.

Reference:

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

 

Sharing Web Resources

The name and link of the organization that I selected is The Harlem Children’s Zone Inc. http://www.hcz.org/ it is a community based organization serving over 17,000 children living in 100 city block in Harlem NYC. Supports children from birth through college. They focus on  innovative, efficiently run programs that are aimed at doing nothing less than breaking the cycle of generational poverty. All HCZ programs are free to the children and families  it serves.

The one issue that caught my attention was the very high percentage of success that the children who are part of the various academic programs have. One would automatically assume that because this program is geared towards children of Harlem, that the success rate would not be that high. I also liked the fact that the program follows the kids from birth through college. There are not a lot of programs out there that would follow children that long. And funding for the HCZ is dependent on donations. I learned that HCZ caters to the diverse community of Harlem by providing the necessary resources for success.  

Reference

http://www.hcz.org/

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Part 1- Establishing Professional Contacts

This assignment was very exciting, that is once I was able to finally able to send the e-mails. I realized that it was not my e-mail recipients; it was the e-mail provider that I was using. I had the hardest time sending out the e-mails initially. Every time I hit send, the e-mail would not go through. I cannot believe that it took me a couple of days and some technical help from my ISP server, now comes the hardest part that is waiting for responses. I will keep everyone informed in the next few weeks as to how things are coming along.  My professional contacts that I chose are: Germany, Spain and China.   

Part 2- Expanding resources

I chose Harlem Children’s Zone. After viewing their website, I wanted to find out more about this organization.  I like the fact that they follow children from birth through college graduation, and I also signed up to receive their newsletter. I will keep you all posted on different issues that I think maybe of interest to you all.