Washington Lawyer - January/February 2019 - 37

GLOBAL & DOMESTIC OUTLOOK

BETTER WORLD
By Peter Jones

he New Year is a time to
reflect on the past year and
an opportunity for thinking
about how we can make this year
a better one. These stories highlight
individuals around the world who are
fighting to make their communities
a better place in the years to come.
Perhaps these accounts could
inspire you, too.
Life and Hope for China's AIDS Orphans
In China, former banker Chung To is helping the
country invest in an often overlooked resource:
AIDS orphans. His Chi Heng Foundation provides
primary and college education for children whose
parents have died of AIDS. So far, To's foundation
has helped more than 23,000 orphans since its
founding in 2001.

Scoring Against AIDS in Swaziland
Despite losing the use of his legs, former rugby
player Michael Collinson is still playing to win -
this time, in the fight against AIDS. Devastated by
the deaths of friends and colleagues in Swaziland,
Collinson founded SKRUM, the Swaziland Kids
Rugby Mission, which uses the sport as an
opportunity for AIDS education. Its motto?
"Pass the ball, not the virus."

A Brave Campaign Against
Mauritanian Slavery

Students Living With Disabilities
Receive Scholarships

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is
pertinent because slavery remains a persistent
problem across the globe. In Mauritania, where an
estimated one-fifth of the population remains
enslaved, activist Biram Dah Abeid leads an active
abolitionist movement pressuring the government
to enforce its 1981 ban on slavery. Since August,
Dah Abeid has been held by the government
without bail, prompting protests in the capital
Nouakchott.

The Spanish NGO ONCE has launched a series of
54 scholarships for university students living with
disabilities as part of its "Opportunity for Talent"
program. The scholarship, now in its fifth year, aims
to facilitate the continued participation of undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students
with disabilities in Spanish universities.

In India, an Activist Rescues
Enslaved Children

On International Anti-Corruption Day, women
in Nigeria are speaking out in the fight against
corruption and bribery. At a workshop in Kwara
State, Limota Gorozo of the International Women
Community Center said that anti-corruption
education is key to ensuring women's full and fair
participation in the economy.

Activist and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi has
spent decades fighting against child slavery in his
native India, where an estimated quarter-million
children have gone missing in the past five years,
many kidnapped and sold as child laborers.
Satyarthi's organization leads raids on workshops
using slave labor, helps reunite children with their
families, and provides a home for formerly enslaved
children whose parents cannot be identified.

A Village Ends Forced Begging
The village of Touba Fall in Senegal has come
together in solidarity to end the practice of forced
begging by boys in religious schools. Traditionally,
students in Islamic religious schools were required
by their teachers to beg, often for hours each day,
to support their attendance at the school, a form of
modern-day indentured servitude. But in Touba Fall,
local families instead sponsor students, giving them
a place to live, food, and access to health care.

Syrians Seek 3D-Printed Prosthetics

istock

The United Nations International Day of Persons
With Disabilities shines a light on those who are
hurting yet surviving. In Syria, more than 30,000
people, many of them children, have lost limbs in
the now seven-year-long civil war. The organization
Syria Relief is seeking help from the UK government
to use 3D printing technology to provide prosthetics.
The technology delivers prosthetic limbs at lower
cost and with greater comfort than traditional
methods.

Nigerian Women Speak Out
Against Corruption

Liberian Author Recruits Kids
to Fight Bribery
Robtel Nejai Pailey believes that the best way to
tackle corruption is from the ground up. This is
why the Liberian author has written two books
- Gbagba and Jaadeh! - to teach children how to
avoid bribery as they grow up. Her hope is that the
books will empower children to lead by example
and change how Liberians and others think about
and react to corruption.

Fighting AIDS With a Grant to Kenya
World Aids Day is always a good time to support a
good cause. As part of the global fight against AIDS,
the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) announced more than $128,000 in grants
for 14 community organizations in Kenya. The
grants, funded by the U.S. government, will go
toward AIDS prevention in a country where 51
percent of new cases occur between the ages
of 15 and 24.

Washington Lawyer - January/February 2019

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