A billion hungry people is a big, ugly, scary statistic too!

by Adam Valvasori - Values Manager

Image via: Worldmapper: "Undernourishment in 2000" The territory size shows the proportion of all undernourished people worldwide, that live there.

On the news this morning I caught myself being quite worried about a statistic. According to the United Nations:

Up to 51 million jobs worldwide could disappear by the end of this year as a result of the economic slowdown that has turned into a global employment crisis.

That's a lot! Upon reflection, the reason I'm disturbed is simple: I, or someone I love could lose their job. Is this the reason why the other statistic coming out of the UN this week isn't having much of an impact and thus not receiving as much media attention? Even though it is clearly a bigger, uglier and scarier one.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that by the end of 2008, rising prices had added 109 million to the ranks of the hungry. Today, about one in six of the world’s population goes short of food, almost a billion people.

Almost a billion people are going hungry and millions more could slip over the edge unless the world takes urgent action, according to aid agency Oxfam. A grim reality for one in every six people living on this planet and yet, the majority of us don't even bat an eye lid.

We don't know how lucky we are.

We may lose our jobs but we'll never go hungry.

We will never know the pain or slow, excruciating death of starvation.

We don't know how lucky we are and ignorance is bliss.

But it doesn't have to be this way... It starts with becoming better informed about our shared reality. Here are some facts and figures from Oxfam that should concern us all:

• One in six of the world's population is hungry
  
• Between 50 and 60 percent of childhood deaths in the developing world are hunger related
  
• The risk of death is 2.5 times higher for children with mild malnutrition than for children who are adequately nourished
  
• The proportion of overseas development assistance spent on agriculture has fallen from almost a fifth in 1980 to 3 percent today
  
• Poor people are particularly vulnerable to food price changes with many spending up to 80 percent of their income on food
  
• Even before the recent crisis 16,000 children died every day of hunger-related causes - one every five seconds

Read More: A Billion Hungry People
Do More: Donate to an International Aid and Development agency that is helping to address the short and long term causes of the food crisis. Something quick and easy you can do is buy a snag for change...

The Body Shop shouted me this snag at Snags for Change World Vision's Global Food Crisis Emergency Appeal. Buy a snag. Make a difference.

Hairdressers Talking Health

Hairdressers love people.

They care about their clients and take an interest in every part of their life. Hairdressers are often among the first to hear about the good times of life, such as births and weddings. They are also among the first to hear of conflict in relationships and illness or death in the family. Hairdressers are natural helpers and can sometimes feel responsible for not only the hair style but also the self esteem of their clients. Hairdressers provide nurturing for their clients; but who looks after the hairdressers well being?

Talking Health; An early intervention family violence project engaging hair professionals.

Women often tell their hairdressers more about what is really happening in their lives than the people they are closest to. This highly innovative project is building on the success of a similar American concept of using that unique relationship between hairdresser and client to provide a point of referral for women experiencing family violence (FV). This is the story of the journey from a good idea to a project with unique partnerships.

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Authors: Shakti McLaren, Community Health Nurse and Family Therapist, Cardinia Casey Community Health Service (CCCHS) Pakenham.
Rhonda Garad, Health Promotion Practitioner, CCCHS Cranbourne
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Two years ago in a FV support group I was running, a woman (Schana) who was a hairdresser, talked about how lots of her clients often discussed their abusive relationships. Schana said: ‘Its quite amazing how they not only trust us with their ‘crowning glory’ but also some of their ‘deepest secrets’, she went on to say that ‘as a survivor I know how important it is to have someone to confide in, guide you in the right direction and help you realise you are not alone’. This was the beginning of the Talking Health journey.

Schana’s input has been crucial. In her role as a consumer and FV survivor she offers us informed insight into the project development and direction. On eof the wonderful outcomes of her work in the project is that she was recently appointed as a Project Worker at Women’s Health in the South East and now has a key role in developing the project more widely.

Following on from the first vision Schana and I discussed, I spoke with a variety of stakeholders such as the local police liaison officer who was supportive and concerned about the increasing level of reported FV. I also chatted with owners of a local salon and my own hairdresser. My hairdresser stated that when he looked at the appointments he knew what sort of day he was in for, good or bad, by which clients were booked in.

Developing partnerships is crucial to the success of all health promotion projects and as FV is a women's health issue, I approached the regional women's health service. In order to broaden the project I also approached our local rural health service at Koo Wee Rup. They were very keen to work in such an innovative partnership. I looked for funding from both private and public sources and specifically targeted companies with a commitment to women’s health. The Body Shop were immediately interested and subsequently provided a substantial seeding grant for the project.

The project now benefits from a variety of unique partnerships including, Cardinia Casey Community Health Service, The Body Shop, Women’s Health in the South East, Kooweerup Regional Health Service and Monash University, (for evaluation support).

The next stage in the project was working out how best to attract hairdressers into the project. Input from Schana, our consumer representative told us that hairdressers are often faced with difficult issues arising from their clients’ conversations. Hairdressers in the field expressed a sense of inadequacy in dealing effectively with issues such as relationship abuse and difficulties, loss and grief, depression and other serious health issues.

The decision was made to pitch the project in terms of skill development in effective communication around these specifically identified health issues.

In February 2009 we will run our inaugural training workshops for hairdressers. In addition, ongoing mentoring and debriefing opportunities will be offered to all participants in the project.
Over the next six months Monash University is assisting with an evaluation process to assess the impact of the project.

There have been many lessons learnt. The biggest lesson has been the importance of engaging and listening to the insights from survivors, whose experiences have informed the content and direction of the project. Another was the recognition that when working with private businesses the project had to be mutually beneficial. Hairdressers are busy people running a profit making business; therefore they need to gain from their participation in the project.

The most rewarding aspect of this project so far has been the willingness of hairdressers to come on board and help us to design the marketing materials and training session content.

At the time of writing this article a hairdressing product supply company is showing interest in supporting the project further into the future. A training manual has also been developed.

Family violence is a taboo area for many people to discuss. However, the unique relationship between hairdressers and their clients seems to have the power to challenge this taboo and to break new ground.


Partner organisations:
Cardinia Casey Community Health Service (part of Southern Health)
Kooweerup Regional Health Service
Monash University: Department of Health Sciences
Women’s Health in the South East Dandenong

Sponsor:
The Body Shop. (Via the Stop Violence in the Home Daisy Soap fund-raising)

For more information about this project call Shakti on 03 59410500 Tuesday to Thursday. Or e-mail shakti.mclaren@southernhealth.org.au

Happy New President Day!

By Adam Valvasori - Values Manager
via whitehouse.gov: Image of the first family volunteering in Washington yesterday.

I'm one of the tragics that got up at 3am this morning to watch the inauguration of the 44th President Barrack Hussein Obama. I'm so very impressed and so hopeful. The world can always change for the better but only with great leadership.

Read the transcript or watch the inaugural speech here. My optimism is bolstered by President Obama's emphasis on individual responsibility to action to better our local and global community. I also really like what he did and said yesterday:

via whitehouse.gov:

Yesterday, with Washington and the country eagerly awaiting the Inauguration, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their families spent the day honoring the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. by serving others. After spending the morning with wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed Medical Center, President Obama traveled to the Sasha Bruce Youthwork shelter for homeless teens in Northeast Washington where he helped renovate "safe space" housing.

After leaving the shelter, the President and Mrs. Obama attended a reception with volunteers at Coolidge Senior High School, where President Obama spoke about the challenges ahead and how every one person can contribute to fighting them.

"Dr. King taught us that we could no longer view our own day-to-day cares and responsibilities as somehow separate from what was happening in the wider world that we read about in the newspaper and saw on TV," the President said at the reception.

...

Ask anyone working at The Body Shop Australia how important and how much we enjoy serving the ideal of a better world. We do this in many ways including, the ethics of our supply chain, our public social and environmental 'values campaigns' and our Community Projects (volunteering activities for NGOs in each store's local community).

It's what makes our jobs special and our company great. We are by no means just in it for the money. Whether it's being greener or more ethical, we hope other businesses are inspired by today's presidential buzz and take more responsibility and action to become better global corporate citizens. No one's perfect, including us, but I think the most important thing is the will and determination to try harder.

Save Our Icons Australia Day BBQ

Via the Australian Conservation Foundation




Australia Day is a celebration of the things that make this country great. At its heart is the natural environment that affords us our much envied Aussie lifestyle.

This Australia Day, we’re asking you to consider our wonderful Aussie icons – the Great Barrier Reef, the Murray Darling Basin, Kakadu wetlands, even the great Australian backyard – when celebrating our national day on 26 January.

Over the Australia Day weekend, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) will be joining with people all over the country in holding nationwide sustainable BBQs. These events will provide the opportunity to celebrate the special places we love and our famous Aussie lifestyle while also acknowledging that many of these very things are under threat from climate change.

It would be un-Australian to allow our natural icons to be lost due to weak efforts to tackle climate change. Australia has set a target to reduce carbon pollution by just 5 - 15% by 2020 – if adopted globally, this would mean devastation for many of our favourite and most special places.

This Australia Day, tell our Government which part of Australia you couldn’t bear to lose.

Click here to get the rundown and register your BBQ!

ACF GreenHome's top five tips for hosting a sustainable Australia Day

1. If you are looking at investing in a new BBQ, choose one that runs on natural gas as opposed to coal or electric 1 – it will use less power and generate a lot less pollution.
   
   
2. Choose a location that is easily accessible by public transport, is equipped with recycling and composting facilities, and avoid using any disposable products such as plastic plates or individually wrapped food products.
   
   
3. Use organic and/or locally produced products with minimal packaging. If you are cooking fish, try to source sustainably fished varieties (see www.amcs.org.au)
   
   
4. Try to cut down on red meat at your BBQ - one 150 gram steak can require over 200 litres of water to produce and create 5 kg of greenhouse pollution. Try vege kebabs, a few more salads, soy snags or even fried Haloumi cheese. For some great recipes go to http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Grilling-101-Grilled-Vegetables/
   
   
5. Eat what you buy – don’t waste it! Australians throw away more than 10 times the amount of food than we donate in foreign aid dollars.

Learn more from ACF's GreenHome
The Body Shop will be campaigning with ACF again on Climate Change this year from 29 June - 19 July.

Temperature Set to Soar

By Deb Baxter - The Body Shop
With temperatures to soar in Victoria over the next couple of days, there are many things we can do to save water around the home. Our Values Partner's - the Australian Conservation Foundation have some great tips on their website on how we can save water - regardless of the current temperature.
"We often hear that Australia is the driest inhabited continent and most Australians will have faced water restrictions at some point...With drought and water restrictions becoming regular events, it's time to permanently change our water consumption habits.

There are easy things everyone can do to reduce their household's water consumption"

1. Make your garden a mulched one The vast majority of household water is used outdoors on the garden. By mulching your garden it is possible to reduce the amount of water wasted through evaporation by around 70%.

2. Fix any dripping taps or leaky toilets A dripping tap can waste as much as 20,000 litres of water a year and usually means that a washer needs replacing.
3. Install dual-flush toilets We already know that the toilet is one of the biggest water users in the house...
4. Take a short, efficient shower By replacing an old showerhead (that uses between 20 and 30 litres per minute) with a 3 star model (7-9 litres per minute) you can save as much as $100 on your water bill.
5. Install a rainwater tank Your roof is more efficient than a dry dam catchment...
The Australian Conservation Foundation website has tips, not only on how to save water around the home; how to green your garden, how to cut down on waste at home and how to save energy.

Congratulations ANTaR - Something to celebrate

Photo: Three Smiles, by Heide Smith

At the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on 29 November, Australia’s state and federal heads announced they will invest significant new funds into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
The federal government will contribute $806 million and the states will collectively contribute $772 million over the next four years. This is the biggest single injection of Indigenous health spending in decades.
COAG has made a real commitment towards Closing The Gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by committing funding to back up the promises they made earlier in the year.
Congratulations to everybody who has participated in the Close The Gap campaign – and its forerunner, ANTaR's Healing Hands campaign. Collectively we have achieved this outstanding result.
To find out more visit www.antar.org.au/