Footprints – are yours too big?

A footprint is the mark we leave behind – a sign that we were here.

WB Yeats said, “Tread lightly because you tread on my dreams.”

The future is a dream, a possibility that is created by our actions now. We need to be intentional if we are to build the future we want, if we are to bring dreams to reality.

A bright future is not our birthright, it is just one of the many alternatives that lie in front of us and our children.

Gemma's book will be published in April

Gemma Sisia grew up with the glimmer of hope that she might live her life in Africa and contribute towards breaking the cycle of enduring poverty. She took steps into the unknown, unsure how to bring this dream to reality. Now, she find that she is living the reality in Tanzania and, with the help of world-wide hundreds of people, her footprint will be large and confident.

An environmental footprint describes how much land is required to maintain a lifestyle. People who live very simply require very few resources and their environmental footprint is small. People in the affluent West, who have plenty of food, good transport and leisure for holidays leave large footprints.

When we add up all the environmental footprints – the too-small footprints of the millions living in extreme poverty, and the too-big footprints of the millions living in comfort – we can see how much of the Earth’s resources are being used.

What if everyone lived your lifestyle? Is the planet big enough to support everyone?

You can check out the size of your footprint at Ecofoot. Their handy gadget will do the calculations for you and show how many global hectacres are needed to sustain your lifestyle. And how many planets would we need if everyone lived like you do.

Some things will need to change if we are to bring about a bright future for all of us.

I think I’ll start today, with one small thing. I’ll leave the car at home.



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Chipin donation tool

I have added the Chipin donation tool so that you, my interested readers, can contribute to specific projects at the school.

Addendum: I have taken it down till I get organised with Paypal. I thought it was 'go', but it wasn't. My apologies.

A couple of days later: I've sorted the issues with Paypal (they need professional Usability Testing for their website) and now Chipin is nestled resplendently at the top of the page. Have you added your mite?

Does wealth make us more generous?

Apparently not. Data from the Reality of Aid organisation shows that OECD donor countries have failed to significantly close their “generosity gap”, which has been growing since the mid-1990s. The following graph shows how wealth per capita in OECD countries grew by 230% from $9,887 to $32,462 between 1961 and 2004.

Source: Reality of Aid

In the same period, Official Development Assistance (ODA) increased by only 50% from $55 to $83 creating an ever-widening generosity gap.

The Millennium Declaration issued by the UN in 2000 called on all countries to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.” In September 2005, the Special UN World Summit to review progress with respect to the Millennium Declaration reiterated the longstanding goal for the rich countries to devote 0.7% of their GNI to ODA.

Ireland has already reneged on its 0.7% by 2007 commitment and pushed its target date to 2012. Japan, meanwhile, has effectively reneged on its $10 billion commitment made at the G8 Gleneagles meeting for new aid money for Africa.

On a more positive note, France, along with Spain, Brazil and Chile, has been leading the way in developing innovative mechanisms for funding development.

And Australia? Well our targets have been so modest, and so far short of 0.7%, that there is little pride is knowing we are on target to reach 0.35% by 2010.

Reality of Aid report that

Most donor countries that have so far failed to move towards the 0.7% target, can well afford to do so. The successful mobilizations in the 2005 Global Call to Action Against Poverty campaigns in many donor countries, as well as generous responses to the December 2004 tsunami, demonstrated that citizens are far more prepared to respond with generosity than their own governments.

All my letters to politicians are now posted and the breakfast table is clear of paperwork. So I have been using it to baste a quilt I am making.



We have had good rain in the Sydney catchment today! I expect the dam levels will be up this week, though I think we will have water restrictions forever more.



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What makes a GREAT wedding?

Yesterday we went to the wedding of my niece Janna to her beloved Sam. It was one of the best weddings I have been to. And that has me wondering – what makes a wedding good?

Cupcake Wedding Cake – very now!

Well, all the basics were there – everything went smoothly, there were no gaffs or glitches. The ceremony was outdoors and it didn’t rain, despite a thunderstorm at first light. The reception was in beautiful rooms and the food and service were good.

Beyond that, the wedding had the two main elements that make a wedding great –

• It conveyed the messages of love and commitment in ways that really touched us and reminded us of our own promises to love each other. The ceremony, set on beautiful Sydney Harbour in view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, was so uplifting and full of feeling that we were filled with joy.

• It was was beautifully stylish. Janna chose palest pink and chocolate brown as the key colours and she mixed the formal elements (speeches, wedding waltz, etc) with youthful fun (cupcakes and thongs).

We couldn’t have been happier to be part of it. One guest was heard to say, “It’s the best wedding I’ve been to. Including my own.”

Janna and Sam cut the cake, so to speak!

Weddings in Tanzania are similarly joyful affairs. Jacky describes the wedding of Felix and Nembrus. Felix drives one of the St Jude’s buses, and Jacky was volunteering at the School in 2006 when he got married.

Felix and Nembrus

Their wedding started with family members singing and dancing Maasai-style outside the church. The wonderful service, full of singing and blessings, lasted about an hour was followed by a blessing in their new home, a two-room house next to his parents home. Jacky describes the next part of proceedings which took place back at the church.

Now it was time for the giving of gifts. People lined up all the way down the aisle and out the door of the church with their gifts. All different things from Maasai blankets and different types of local material, to pots and plates. When they got up to the bridal table they handed their gift to the brides maid and then shook hands with and blessed the newly married couple. My little gift was a locally made red shirt (for the driver of the little red bus) and a Swahili/English Dictionary. Felix loves speaking English and would love to help his wife to learn how to speak English.

Weddings are one of the great milestones of our lives, when we stand up with our community of family and friends to make our commitment to the positive virtues of love and loyalty. At Janna’s wedding, the celebrant made a point of acknowledging the families who raised Janna and Sam to be adults who appreciate these enduring values.

The School of St Jude gives strong support to these moral values for the 850 children who attend. This support is especially important for those children whose families have been fractured by disease, accident or poverty. Those of us who live in countries of plenty have an obligation to help support the great strengths of love and loyalty in the next generation of children who are growing up in extreme poverty.


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What was I just saying...

It was only two days ago that I commented that there were no market incentives to develop vaccines for diseases like malaria that affect poor countries but not rich countries. The World Bank has just reported that the Group of Seven (G7) rich countries, led by Italy, has signed an agreement to provide $1.5 billion to develop vaccines for poor countries.

HM Queen Rania of Jordan

The new Advanced Market Commitments for Vaccines program, under the auspices of the G7, is ‘aimed at saving millions of lives in the poorest countries and supporting their economic growth with new methods,’ the Italian economy ministry said. The mechanism involves donor nations making a prior commitment to buy vaccines which are under development at a preferential price once they are launched, thereby creating a demand-led market for new vaccines needed by poor countries.

Italy, Britain, Canada and Norway announced funding commitments at a ceremony attended by Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Britain's Gordon Brown, Canada's Jim Flaherty and World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz. Jordan's Queen Rania presided over the launch and the G7 officials explained the program in person to Pope Benedict at the Vatican before traveling to Essen in Germany for the G7 meeting.

I’m rather intrigued by the cast at this carefully staged event – queens, popes, presidents, chiefs and ministers. It’s almost medieval. Technology might change but politics doesn’t. “Be nice to people who have power” is the golden rule for getting anything done.




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Change and more change

The School of St Jude has 150 staff, including teachers, office workers, cooks, cleaners, drivers, builders and others. They are a rich mix of locals and international volunteers.

The mix of staff is constantly changing due to the rapid growth of taking on extra classes each year, and because the international volunteers are usually on one or two-year assignments. At the end of each year, there are the sad goodbyes as some internationals complete their assignment and head home – changed forever by their experience at the School of St Jude.

In 2006 Suzanne revolutionised the Art Department, and the volunteers kitchen!

They quickly come to love the kids for their enthusiasm and wish to learn. And they have all the rewards and satisfaction of contributing their skills in infamiliar conditions and rising to the challenges.

Alicia has the biggest heart and a cheerful willingness to do any job asked of her

Kim says,

The hardest part of the end of each year – saying good bye to the friends who have been such a part of our lives for a year or so. We share the joys of the job and the frustrations; we share our meals and washing up; we yell about noise and empty vegemite jars … and we make up; we complain together about the weather … or someone snoring; we share our jokes and smokes and diarrhea mixture; we rely on each other for chats about home and we are there for each other when bad news hits; and we make each other laugh … or at least, smile even if it is because of our variety of accents, vocabulary, and pronunciations … we are the ‘vollies’. And for that reason we come and go – taking a lot with us, leaving a bit behind … including promises to return ...

Emily, Head of Music Department and ceaseless advocate for the medical care of Alfani when he broke his leg.

Everyone at the School of St Jude is growing and developing as they face new challenges. Local teachers are striving to implement new curricula and apply newly-learnt skills, while the volunteers are striving to be effective in a challenging new environment. When the staff have the support and resources to take on new challenges, you know the kids are getting the best education possible.

Maria Kieran, Recruitment Co-Ordinator 2006, says:

Many people come to Africa to make their mark. The School of St Jude is making a massive impact in the lives of so many children. By giving them good education, and through respecting the African culture and beliefs, the school is giving these children the ability and skills to change their lives for themselves. I’d rather be a tiny part of something major than a big part of nothing.

Each year, the School faces the challenge of welcoming new staff, supporting them as they settle in, utilising their talents, and then farewelling them as they head off into the world as permanent members of the worldwide family of school supporters.

If you have visited the School, volunteered there, or know someone who has, you can use the 'comment' link below this post to share your story.



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The chicken or the egg?

So, richer countries have better health and higher education? But which came first – increased prosperity or better health and education?

Hans Roslings’ Gapminder institute makes dynamic graphs that track improvements in all kinds of measures including health, education and income. They show that in successful countries like India and China, the figures for literacy, schooling, and longevity began to improve before incomes did.

It is clear that while trade may be an essential element that lifts a country out of poverty, this won’t happen without the foundations of improved health and education to begin with.

A literate population with a reasonable lifespan is essential to economic development. While private investment may drive economic development, the foundations of health and education will not be funded by market forces.


The big pharmaceutical companies have not put resources into drugs for malaria because this is a disease of poor countries that can’t afford the drugs. There is no market for them to recoup their investment. So, as the system won’t take care of the problem, some intervention is needed. Seeing this, governments like the British government have offered a guarantee to purchase a malaria vaccine when it is found. This gives pharmaceutical companies the incentive to invest in research.

At the Malaria Vaccine Initiative you can read more about the huge effort going into the development of a malaria vaccine. We will see it in our lifetimes.

In the meantime, you can help build the foundations for future prosperity by giving bright children from poor families a good education at the School of St Jude. Give money, tell your friends, fight poverty through education.