Aude Sapere: Eating Clay

I was less than satisfied with my pasta salad dinner last night. But women in Africa are eating clay. That's right, DIRT.

How do I always manage to take my life for granted?

globeandmail.com: Doctors, activists work to stop clay eating in Africa

Aude Sapere: A Girl Named Gift

At age six, a girl named Gift Hawa was foraging the streets of Mombasa, Kenya, with her infant brother strapped to her back. Their mother had just died of AIDS and they were left on their own. Only Gift survived.

With the help of Mombasa's street children, a generous journalist named Anthony Mulongo found Gift, adopted her into his Nairobi home, enrolled her in a boarding school and hired a housekeeper to care for her during school holidays.

Today, Anthony and Gift have been joined by more than 30 other girls from the Kenyan streets in a new home called Mudzini Kwetu -- Swahili for "Our Home." The girls now have a family, attend school, have a safe place to sleep and to eat -- and they have another chance at enjoying childhood and life in all its fullness.

But it gets better! These girls are not only making a better life for themselves and their sisters, but their story is inspiring a small band of supporters from around the world. Led by a Northern Irishman in Boston (who, yeah, okay, is an old friend of mine -- full disclosure!), these folks have created their own organization to support Mudzini Kwetu and the girls. Through One Home Many Hopes, they've already raised thousands of dollars to alleviate the skyrocketing food costs, build a play area, start a small garden and farm, and purchase two cows. And probably more, but I can't keep track of it all.

I just love when stories like Gift's reach across the globe and inspire action - not only from individuals but in journalists too! Get to know Gift's story -- and if you're interested in keeping up with One Home Many Hopes, you can sign up for their mailing list here.

Aude Sapere: How do you measure evil?

You might find it interesting to know that I'm currently taking a class called Business Ethics. Yeah, yeah, it sounds like an oxymoron, blah blah blah. While I don't believe that in my heart of hearts, I'm having the most difficult time believing it tonight. As part of the class assignment, I have to write a paper about an ethical dilemma faced by a business and evaluate it in light of various ethical frameworks. Doing the research for which company and which ethical dilemma to discuss has been one of the most disheartening endeavors I have faced this semester. Here's a taste of what I've found (click on the company name for the full story):

Chiquita -- In 2003, the banana company admitted to making $1.7 million in "protection payments" to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a U.S.-recognized terrorist group that were rivals of the better-known FARC terrorist group. Chiquita's punishment as levied by the U.S. government? A paltry $25 million fine. Last year, Chiquita recorded gross income of $491 million.

Exxon Mobil -- Among its many sins, Mobil was allegedly involved in the capture, torture and murder of villagers in Aceh, Indonesia, back in the 1990s. At least twelve mass graves have been dug up and an estimated 2,000 Acehnese torture victims have been buried in the Aceh area since 1990. BusinessWeek did an expose in 1998 and I think the case still is not settled. Exxon posted gross income of $145 billion last year.

Coca-Cola -- Coke and one of its bottling subsidiaries is accused in the complicity of the murder of union members and the ongoing intimidation of union members and of the suppression of union activity in Colombia. This came to light in 2005. That's only 3 years ago. Coke's 2007 gross income was $18.4 billion

Blue Hippo -- In my own backyard, this computer selling company took advantage of poor people with bad credit, offering a "deal" that violated a whole bunch of FTC regulations, including the Truth in Lending Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. They settled with the FTC last month with a $5 million payment to consumers -- but face a class-action lawsuit and further probes in other states. It continues to exist today.

Who ARE these people?! At what point does your head and conscience tell you that it's okay to pay off militant terrorist groups? How do you find a team of people who go along with a plan to fleece vulnerable people? And how do we (me included), as consumers, continue to blissfully ignore these gross violations in exchange for cheap gas, cheap food, cheap computers and carbonated sugar water?

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Now playing: Louis Armstrong - Rockin' Chair
via FoxyTunes

Aude Sapere: V-Day

So, the Saudis have banned the color red for Valentine's Day. An interesting spin on a mostly ridiculous "holiday."

But it got me thinking about other parts of V-day ... like what exactly we will buy with the nearly $17 billion that Americans are projected to spend tomorrow. Chocolates, for example. 40 percent of the world's cocoa is grown in Cote d'Ivoire, which also happens to employ 100,000 children in hazardous conditions on the fields. Between 5,000 and 10,000 of those children have actually been enslaved and trafficked into the country to work there.

Not so lovey-dovey, eh?

Still, I shall not leave you feeling guilty about wanting to shower your loved ones with something special (although, I will say that there are still 322 more days this year when your loved ones want to feel loved too). Thanks to the Brits at the Department for International Development, you can spend like the American you are and have a guilt-free conscience. Check out the chocolates from Ghana, produced under fair trade principles that support small farmers.

Dare To Know

I'm starting a new series that I'm calling Aude Sapere, which is Latin for "dare to know." I came across this phrase in a completely random manner and liked it so much that I filed it away in my head to bring back at the appropriate time.

And that time would be now.

Generally, whenever I read or hear about some significant happening that I want to share with you, I post it on the blog -- but I've discovered that it often gets lost among the silly little notes that I write about my life. So, in an effort to make the more meaningful entries stand out, I'm creating a new series and giving it a catchy name, like any good marketer and communications professional would do. This series is meant to reveal events, people, and trends that each of us should dare to know. I anticipate that most of the pieces will not be fluffy nor give you that warm-and-squishy-like-a-chocolate-molten-cake feeling. My goal is to be challenging, perhaps a bit controversial, and eye-opening. Don't worry, not everything will be a depressing story that breaks your heart -- there are many stories that can be difficult to digest, yet still encouraging and uplifting. I promise to try and strike a balance.

For the inaugural edition of Aude Sapere, I've chosen to feature a young boy named Joab. Born into the Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya, Joab faces the complexities and catch-22 choices that accompany his mother's death and a society that lets him down. I'll give away a bit of the ending, in the hopes that you will be encouraged to watch this very short film clip -- the telling of Joab's story lands on a positive note.

So, dare to know. Dare to know the lives of others who seem so distant yet whose very basic desires and needs match our own. Dare to know the flippancy with which we, as the elite few, treat our privilege and education. Dare to know the determination and the courage that can come from even the smallest boy living among the ruins.


Click here to play.






Link won't work? http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/school2/vid/right2.html#