TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP END POVERTY!

1. STOP WASTING FOOD, instead, buy and use only what you need. Make a budget of your expenses for food when you are not AWARE of how you spend. The following week, make a day by day account of what you buy and why, being AWARE that there are over ONE BILLION hungry people around the world...and you can help SOME of them!

2. INSTEAD OF BUYING SOMETHING THAT YOU DO NOT NEED, INVEST THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY IN EITHER MICRO-CREDITING with Givology, Kiva etc. organizations, FEED A HUNGRY CHILD/PERSON in your neighbourhood, SAVE and ACCUMMULATE IT with the intention to donate it in a cause you support later. (check Givology-invest in small businesses,provide opportunities for poor women etc. or Kiva-microcredits 2 empower people around the world or Concern Gifts-affordable gifts that can lift families out of poverty or FILL THE CUP-provide school meals, keep children in school! etc.)

3. If you do not have the means to donate actual money toward a cause that you are otherwise very passionate about, use all the online FREE opportunities to engage in ACTION, whether by SPREADING the WORD via your favortie social media, by playing cool games etc. e.g. Choose a cause, earn points by completing activities, spread the word! or play a cool word game for free and earn points that turn into rice grains which will feed the hungry! choose a cause, earn points 4 it, spread the word etc.). If you need more ideas get in touch with me!

4. Open an account/or have a special box in which you collect money which will later be INVESTED in improving the life of someone impoverished! You can also put such a box in your office and then decide together with your co-workers how to spend this money. (you can make an alternative box with Ideas how to tackle such issues or Wishes/Needs that people know about in your area etc.)

5. Write about POVERTY/HUNGER/WAYS to EMPOWER poor people/etc. etc. and share these thoughts/articles with your friends (by e-mails or social media outlets), e.g. instead of sending them FORWARDs which they probably don't bother to read, make it PERSONAL - tell them 'YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE'!

6. INSPIRE others for ACTION. Bring AWARENESS about poverty etc. in your country or around the world. Bring the ATTENTION of the public to these issues, e.g. write to your government, to all the media in your city etc.

7. Be an EXAMPLE to others! Don't indulge yourself in endless, futile consumerism/shopping. Don't buy stuff for the sake of buying it, for the sole sake of having the MOST fashionable look! Rather, set boundaries for yourself, invest your money wisely (no matter how much you actually have)!

8. Apart from money, what really matters is your ATTITUDE! Your willingness to DONATE your TIME and HEART into improving the lives of those in need, e.g. volunteer in an orphanage, for an organization delivering food to the hungry, organize a small group with which to discuss issues, to organize events, to share info. BE ACTIVE!!! (it can be people from your workplace, or church, or school, or neigbours).

9. Find a cause/an organization that interests you, that fascinates you, then get in touch with it, learn more about it, get involved in it! It does NOT matter how educated you are, what job position you have, how you look, or what your faith is, just BE COMPASSIONATE (check this)!

10. Use your talents, your professional skills, your social or work position to advance human efforts toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (see here for more info) and ENDING POVERTY in all its dimensions! (Poverty is MULTIDIMENSIONAL and it limits the choices of people to develop and reach their full potential, it hinders them from living their lives to the fullest, therefore it restricts and robs them from FREEDOM!) “Poverty is lack of access to basic human needs such as food, clean water, health care, clothing, education and shelter.” (see here). If you are an architect, put your skills and knowledge in use for the poor in your community (cool projects to improve communities or volunteer with Habitat for Humanity); if you are a teacher, share with your children about the world, engage them in action, whether by organizing volunteer trips to nearby orphanages, or get them to collect goods, make sells of crafts they make in class and donate the money toward a cause, make them AWARE and ENGAGED young citizens!; if you are a student, get involved in social clubs that have community service programs etc. , get together with like-minded people, organize events on campus, inspire others with your own actions! if you are a businessman, make your business truly SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE, share your skills and resources with the poor, invest in such communities (building wells, providing micro-credits etc.), offer scholarships to students from impoverished communities etc.

YOU ARE SPECIAL AND UNIQUE! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

THERE ARE A BILLION WAYS TO HELP THE BOTTOM BILLION!

IT'S YOUR CHOICE AND RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT! NOW!

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STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY!TAKE ACTION TODAY!

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Dealers disguised like Leaders

Leaders are dealers of souls and of lives
Mugabe, Kibaki, they are all in the pack
wolves dressed like sheep
they roam in this world
robbing the welfare of the destitute
disguised and shameless they trade all
for their own prosperity and as they see fit (well)

The church is an accomplice, a terrorist too
with pastors in Armani, driving Benz among their flock
they are the false prophets, the 'good shepherds',
rotten and defiled
conforming with every vice with sinful desire and lust
instead of healing they corrupt
instead of giving they rob

Who is to intercede for the victims of this wrong?
Who is to stand up for the helpless and abused?
Who is to proclaim justice and punish those in charge?

for the sheep have been silenced, muted and crushed
or they are simply lured by small bits of hope and crumbs
they yield to the beatings, they bow to the whips
or shout out their grievances but all is lost in the empty fields...

it's not their agenda, nor it is their choice
it's a life pre-ordained, it's a struggle to survive

is the harvest insufficient?
that some would have abundance while others have none?
or is it the avarice of the 'leaders'?
that brings forth unspoken pain and misfortune to the ill?

Let the heavens judge and the earth obey,
as it's written it shall come to stay
but this remains true:
there is no change, if no one who cares
does anything to prevent
the injustice and untruth
that so awfully prevails!

So, as a word in conclusion
i would dare say
that my humble prayer is
for true leaders to be made
amolded and shaped
not so as conspiring evil and gain,
but as humble servants willing to give and to reign
with just and honest hand their people
for the better today!

"There arose a dispute among the twelve, which of them was reputed to be the greatest. But Jesus said to them, The leaders of the Gentiles lord it over them, and they who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. On the contrary, let him who is greatest among you become as the least, and him who is chief become as the servant." Luke22:24-26

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Real Life Survivors vs. entertainment 'survivors'

it's early in the morning. i wake up, take a long hot shower, prepare my coffee, take a glass of water, put my clothes in the laundry...and get to work...the day is busy, i run the errands, chat with friends, manage my finances, eat, shop, cook, clean...etc, till it's time to relax. but first: 'It's been a tiring day', 'money is not enough', 'life is too hard', 'life is unfair', 'i'm so unlucky'...sounds familiar?

our lives have become so facilitated by all kinds of gadgets and amenities, yet instead of being simplified, they have become way too complicated (and meaningless). now, we (by 'we' i mean that percentage of the world's population which actually has access and enjoys fully this so-called 'modern life') don't try to survive and live day for day, scarcely meeting ends...no,we don't. and we don't know what it means to see your kids die because you couldn't provide for them, no, we don't. we don't comprehend the struggles and the human will to Survive, to Live, to Be, because we've been given a chance by birth (or so).

So, instead, we resort to more sophisticated ways of understanding the grudges, the hardships and 'tricks' of survival...entertainment.

Shows like 'Survivor' have become so popular all over the world. We admire the men and women who push themselves to extremes to 'survive'...and eventually win a million dollars or so...ye, but survivor is nothing like that! ...anyway, who wants to know. it's enough to see a few photos of starving children on the news, hear about hundreds of thousands of people 'displaced' (one might not even understand it well)...that exhausts our engagement in World Affairs, which are for politicians to solve... and then we can switch back to our Entertainment channel.

I'm not against entertainment in general. i suppose it is beneficial in some ways, enriching our lives or just helping us relax, but these particular forms of entertainment have exposed and perverted some of human's most honourable qualities, like will power, determination, vigour, courage etc. What do these shows encourage and inspire us for? Seeing how far a man can be pushed, the limits of his/her strength, will, hope? But it's all fake...because no one will be willing to do these things if there were no incentives. So, then, is this kind of show really displaying the heights of human courage and will power...or the depth of his/her desire to attain the prize (simply the greed for money)? I guess stimulation is not a bad thing, it is indeed necessary, since humans operate better when they are given a carrot, rather than nothing...but we are missing the point.

If you look closer in the news next time, and instead of ignoring or avoiding the faces of the displaced, the refugees, the starved, the underprivileged, the sick, and the weak...you will not see losers, but real life Survivors, heroes who have fought more battles than soldiers in wars have! Then you will be moved!
It is these people who aspire admiration and honour, the ones who Never give up, who strive to Survive on a daily basis...whose courage is beyond our understanding. These are the Survivors of this world. And this is NOT entertainment!

Don't encourage shows like 'Big Brother', which deprives people from growing and only engages them in meaningless gossip and trivial stories. Don't encourage shows like the World's Eating competition, during which, tons of food is wasted and which, despite all the food being devoured, leaves your mind and soul empty. Don't encourage shows like 'Survivor', or even 'Fear Factor', which despite being quite amusing and exciting, only prove the ultimate power of money to control people, to push them to do...just about anything.

When you wake up tomorrow, let your first words be of giving thanks, for just how blessed you truly are, and let your life not be 'devoured' by the media, 'consumed' by the multi-million corporations, but let it be moved and transformed by the stories of those to whom heaven belongs...the real survivors of this world. Jesus said,

" Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me....

'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me...' Matt.25:31-46

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Is Peace just a delusion or an arm-stretch away shore?

Inequalities, Regulations
Incentives and Ratios
International crisis and global response
constipation
Contradictions, world puzzles
Paradigms and Dilemmas,
Paradoxes and Distortions
Truth is False
and
Falsehood True
how come 1+1 still equals 2?

should we live in a cave (of ignorance)
like Plato's heroes do?

***

Justice or Order,
what's on your mind?
again in opposition,
it's - Either / Or
Peace or War -
mutually destroyed?
can Man reconcile
the Self-interest and that of All?

***

Lots are distributed
stocks piled up
flows of money come and go
yet the bottom is lied down
with bodies of the invisible
and the unknown...

***

step on them! close your eyes!
it's clear, you've chosen your path
demise and lethal end are on the way...
but who will dare take a different path
(and be doomed wrong) ...anyway...

***

put down the guns, raise up the flags
is Peace an oasis (delusion)? or an arm stretch-away shore?

...how would you know...if you don't stretch your own?

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the world of the MANY and the world of the FEW - the reign of INequality

The Many build the houses
the Few live in them

The Many grow the crops
the Few enjoy the meals

The Many supply the water
the fews' thirst is quenched

The Many mine precious stones
the few wear diamond necklaces

The Many manufacture clothes
the Few wear them and show off

The Many die in pursuit of freedom
the Few are born free

The Many cut their trees
the Few read books and have green fields

The Many gather the fruits
the Few drink fresh coffee in Starbucks

The Many fight for peace
the Few enjoy it

The Many are slaves
the Few are masters

The Many are sold in sex trade
the Few have choice to become what they want

The Many are invisible
the Few are famous

The Many are life survivors
the Few are film heroes (stars)

The Many are being tortured
the Few are pampered

The Many die before turning 5
the Few live long after 75

The Many thirst for knowledge
the Few go to university

The Many are sick
the Few have access to doctors and pills

The Many live with less than a dollar a day
the Few fill a bag of money on a shopping day

The Many bury their dreams and beloved ones
the Few enjoy their 'dreams come true'

The Many's voice is silenced
the Few's is loud and clear

is our world distinctively divided into 'the Many' and the 'Few'?
are we two distinct breeds?
are we from different planets?
can there ever be reconciliation, or is it like mixing oil and water in a cup?

we wish to see a world where it Matters who You are simply because You are a Human Being, a child of God, a Person, woman, man, young or old.
but we live in a wolrd in which it Matters, in various degrees, who You are and what life you will lead by the color of your skin,
by the place you were born,
by the culture you are in,
by the passport you will have,
by the groups that you belong,
by the people you will know,
by the money you have got,
by the clothes that you can buy and
by the things you can consume,
by the words you can pronounce and
by the schools you will enjoy...it depends...it matters really, can it ever be any different really?

It can...Jesus said...

"Blessed are you who are poor,
for YOURS is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of man.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets."

Luke6: 20-26

So, hold on, you who are last...because he said "The last shall be First and the first shall be last" Matt.20:16

as for equality...is it a matter of heaven?.. and not earth?..not this earth?..or at least not now?...

still, it isn't to say we should give up on hope of improvement, on hope of reducing the Many and increasing the Few...on making the scales close to even, even if it costs us our lives...We will do!

all we need is voices from the Few who are willing to speak for the Many,
we need few of the Few to open their eyes and become aware, and try to change the' formula' of our world,
so that the two (the Many and the Few) become compatible and fair.

So, if you are from the Few today, the Few who have a home, a meal, clean water, school and all kinds of amenities to enjoy every day,
Challenge your Self to look deeper into yourself and try to see this Self in a mirror that portrays you as if you belonged to the Many...and you will never be the same again...i am also doing this, by the way!

There need not be first and last, there need not be race in life...if we can see through God's eyes...and embrace everything with love..just as it comes.
not judge, not discriminate,
not greed, not rush,
not flush love, or buy guns,
not make war, not live to Have but to Give,
not live to be recognized, but turn into reality somebody's dreams,
not for the Self, not for the Things, not for the Stuff, the Money, the Stage, the Fame
but for the Many, for the Love, the Truth, the Hope, the Treasures of heaven...
not for Me but for You...

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how much is 5 $ ?

how much is 5 $ for you?

today i read in the Economist an article about a new study on poverty, conducted by two experts from the World Bank http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12010733. the title read "the bottom 1.4.billion". so, it's estimated that 879 million people live with under 1$ per day and another 520 million with under 1.25 $ per day, altogether accounting for 1.4 billion of the world's poorest inhabitants. (measured by purchasing power parity the numbers might differ, but the reality is overwhelmingly apparent - eradicating poverty, especially extreme poverty, by 2015 and complying with the promises for reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), call for drastic reconsideration of the current efforts, intensifying of the successful methodologies and strategies, doubling all efforts and power towards meeting the goals and most of all leading to the alleviation of these millions of people living in deprivation!)

just a few days ago, i started asking myself about the real value of money, more specifically 5 Euro. i, myself, have lived in a middle-class family, and despite having been broke at times, i have never been starved, never been left without a roof above my head and have been blessed with a chance to develop my potential and receive education and a future that many never get. at the same time, i know people who have thousands of euros pocket money, eat dinners as costly as a monthly (annual) income of an average family, and live not in houses but castles and mansions. yet, there are those people i know, who work day and night just to try to buy the bear necessities of life...and survive.

so, how much IS 5 $?

to answer this question, i dared make a rough calculation of my daily expenses (for today) and reach to a more sustained conclusion about the value of a 5 $ bill. - how much, indeed, did i spend during the past day and on what?
so, lets see: 1. i bought breakfast/lunch for about 2 $, yet sometimes, when i decide to "spoil myself" and buy iced coffee etc. i might spend as much as 3 $. 2. i finally managed to buy myself a new pair of sneakers (the discounted ones were all big size, so ended up buying the expensive ones) 120 $ 3. i found a rather compact, small bag pack on sale and bought it for 15 $ 4. i went home and made myself a big salad, toasted some bread, added some cheese and ate a happy meal (if that was in a restaurant, it would cost me as much as 4 $). 5. in the evening i went out with my cousin and didn't pay for anything cause he was treating, but all in all, my portion of the treat cost about 2.5 $, plus i had some home-made soup for dinner, accompanied by some ham. 6. today i used the toilet numerous times, showered with hot water, washed my hands, drank clean water, had the computer (with internet) on for quite awhile, used a bit of electricity, talked on the mobile phone and will now close the day.
it's a very rough calculation...yet it clearly shows the value of money...money here...money there...money everywhere! of course, i do not purchase shoes everyday (i ain't a shopping freak) but ONCE in AWHILE...i NEED to...and so goes the story...

the question remains...how much is 5 $? of, course, when you have it, it might look irrelevant and trivial, but when you need it, when its lack is sensed, then it seems giant and essential.
for me, today, 5 $ got a new meaning...with 5 $ a family in a rural area somewhere in Cambodia, let's say, might live a whole week...and if 5 $ is saved in the course of 1 month, the freedom of a girl sold in prostitution might be bought back (Kristoff's article on the two teenage girls in Cambodia)...nevertheless, 5 $ may also mean a single cup of coffee, a phone call, a pack of cigarettes, a pair of socks, a week's payment, a price for a prostitute, 1/5th of a micro financial loan, a piece of chocolate, a rented movie...

i am conveying a poll about the value of 5 $ for you! please, feel free to answer the question. there is no 1 right answer...because, money creates different, parallel worlds, in which people's lives can be compared only by their riches in heaven and in no way by their lifestyles here on earth, how can you compare black and white? you can only contrast them...but you can compare two nuances of red...so is it - the bottom 1.4 billion and the top 5 billion, of which more than half is somewhere in the middle...and only a tiny portion...is selected for enjoying and lavishing the riches on earth.

it's time! to look at our 5 $ bill in the pocket and reevaluate it. it's time! to awake for the harsh truth and to face it boldly, ready to sacrifice our insatiable desires and false needs, for the common good, for the better future of all.
it's time! to re-use this 5 $ bill sensibly and responsibly, maybe to feed s.o. in need, maybe to save and sponsor a kid to go to school, maybe to try not to use is as if we don't have it and see just how badly we do need it.

it's time! to become better stewards of the blessings God has provided for us and give more thought to our saving account in heaven.

we don't want to end up carrying full pockets of 5 $ bills to heaven and find ourselves homeless there...

for it is said "for where you treasure is, there your heart will be" Luke 12:34,

Jesus warned us : Matthew 6: 19-21, 24-25, 31-33
19”Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. 20 Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. 21 For your heart will always be where your riches are. 24 You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 25 Do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for you body. After all isn’t life worth more than food? And isn’t the body worth more than clothes? 31 So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? Or my drink? Or my clothes? 32 Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. "

how about we each make a small heavenly pocket where to store money we've saved from things we've craved for but sacrificed and, according to each one's pocket, do something nice for someone, whether just buying them food, or maybe clothing, or maybe books for school...Brothers and sisters, let our treasures be measured by the number of people we've showed love and mercy to, rather than by the amount of money we have stored in the bank!

INVEST IN YOUR HEAVENLY ACCOUNT TODAY AND YOU WILL WEAR THE CROWNS OF LIFE WHEN WE MEET WITH JESUS!

God bless you all!

Love and Peace

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