Empowering Ecological Change

I'm sure you know the facts. However, please bear with me on this as there's a bigger picture ...

Around the world, some 26,500 children die every day.

That is equivalent to:
1 child dying every 3 seconds, 18 children dying every minute, A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring every week, An Iraq-scale death toll every 15–36 days, Almost 10 million children dying every year, Some 90 million children dying between 2000 and 2009.

In short, the scale of the problem is bigger than the scale of the response.
In the UK the charity sector is worth £41bn, when I began my research it was £35bn, the number of children dying each day remained constant and yet to tackle hunger as an issue would take less than we spend on booze and fags in Europe!

Number of children in the world = 2.2 billion
Number in poverty = 1 billion (that's every second child)
Children out of education worldwide = 121 million

Here's some direct comparisons of our current global priorities measured in $U.S. Billions

Cosmetics in the United States 8
Ice cream in Europe 11
Perfumes in Europe and the United States 12
Pet foods in Europe and the United States 17
Business entertainment in Japan 35
Cigarettes in Europe 50
Alcoholic drinks in Europe 105
Narcotics drugs in the world 400
Military spending in the world 780

Here's what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:

Basic education for all 6
Water and sanitation for all 9
Reproductive health for all women 12
Basic health and nutrition 13

So we can see from this that our priority is skewed towards consumption and self destruction.

Using available knowledge, existing scientific evidence and just a penny a day from people in the so called developed world it becomes possible to not only reverse the trends of child mortality but also to tackle environmental issues at the same time.
By focusing on an ecological agenda whilst highlighting the broader goals and targets of the Millennium Development Goals we have the opportunity to join forces with the people in the problem to create an alternative future beyond the one we've known to date.
In practical terms this means building advocacy throughout the worlds schools (2 billion children), involving refugees in food security programmes that enable them to grow their own food, reclaim desert and teach their parent how, and creating a social inclusion programme that invites the worlds consumers to invest a penny a day.

Yes, I hear the sceptics groaning as I write, about over simplification, lack of whatever it is they may fail to see on face value, BUT and HOWEVER none of us are excluded from an ability to respond positively towards this issue. A new start can be made every day and from a logical perspective that means working with what we have, enabling the people that work in the education and development sector, and supporting schools to get involved in a new subject for the curriculum ... Global Social Responsibility.

Would you like to be involved in seeding the "evolution" that begins in UK and African schools?