Ni vse zlato, kar se sveti

Včasih se v mojih mislih porodijo naključna vprašanja. Trenutno sem v tistem obdobju, ko se moji vrstniki poročajo, imajo otroke, ustvarjajo lastne domove, delajo v pravih službah, … Ob skodelicah kave se med tistimi, ki tega še niso dosegli, pogosto pojavlja beseda uspeh. Ampak kaj to dejansko pomeni? SSKJ (Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika) ima naslednjo definicijo:

1. dejstvo, da kdo s svojim delom, prizadevanjem doseže, kar želi, pričakuje
2. pozitiven rezultat kakega dela, prizadevanja (1)

V družbi se beseda najpogosteje uporablja za tiste, ki so obogateli, dosegli visoke položaje v službi, časti in podobne stvari. Zame to preprosto ni smiselno. Mora biti nekaj več kot to. Mene zanima, če je nekdo dobra oseba, koliko je prispeval h skupnosti, ali je pošten, ali spoštljivo ravna z ljudmi, … Gre se za stvari, ki se jih ne da izmeriti z denarjem, materialnimi dobrinami ali položajem v družbi. Najlažje je predalčkati ljudi na prvi pogled glede na zunanje označevalce: uspešen, zguba, sramežljiv, tih, družaben …

Pred kratkim sem zasledila odličen članek v reviji New Yorker z naslovom Trpeče duše (Suffering Souls). Glavna tema so psihopati, ampak omenja tudi sledeče: „Najbolj primerno delovno področje za psihopate je, tako pravi Hare, posel. V njegovi drugi knjigi, 'Kače v oblekah: Ko gredo psihopati v službo (Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work)', ki jo je napisal s Paulom Babiackom, se Hare spogleduje s pop psihologijo, ko izpostavi, da bi bilo veliko osebnostnih lastnosti, ki so zaželene v korporativnem kontekstu, kot so neusmiljenost, pomanjkanje družbene zavesti in enostranska posvečenost uspehu, zunaj tega okolja videnih kot psihopatskih.“ (2)

Ta izjava se mi je zdela zanimiva, ker ravno na te lastnosti naletimo znova in znova, ko v časopisu beremo o direktorjih, menedžerjih in podobnih, medtem ko se njihovi zločini postopoma razkrivajo. Ravno oni nosijo največ krivde za finančno krizo v tej državi, s katero se še vedno borimo. Zakaj bi nekdo imel to za vzor, če to pomeni, da bi imel korist od trpljenja drugih, od goljufanja, od kraje? Ali je to dediščina, ki jo zapuščamo svojim otrokom?

Ravno to je razlog, zakaj se mi zdita dobrodelnost in prostovoljstvo tako pomembna in so me zelo ujezili komentarji pod člankom v nacionalnem časopisu, ki je razpravljal ravno o teh dveh temah. Ljudje so pisali stvari kot so: „Zakaj bi karkoli počel brezplačno?; Zakaj bi nekomu pomagal, če nihče ni pomagal meni?; Svoje otroke bom vzgajal, da bodo poskrbeli sami zase, ne da bi nekaj počeli zastonj“. Prostovoljstvo in neplačana pripravništva sta dva popolnoma različna svetova, ki ju ne gre mešati.

Branje takšnih komentarjev mi je zlomilo srce. Zame je bilo prostovoljstvo vedno nekaj, kar me je notranje obogatilo in nikoli nisem razmišljala, da bi morala dobiti kaj v zameno. Bila sem hvaležna, da sem dobila priložnost za takšno izkušnjo in sem se iz njih veliko naučila. Spomnim se obdobja lansko leto, ko sem dva sirijska begunca, ki sta bila le nekaj let mlajša od mene, učila nemščino. Imela sem veliko prostega časa in sem že dlje spremljala vojno v Siriji, zato sem se prijavila takoj, ko sem videla oglas za prostovoljno učenje nemščine sirijskih beguncev. Fanta sta bila sirska Kurda. Eden od njiju je študiral v Aleppu, kjer je zdaj glavna fronta.

Zame je bila to zelo dragocena izkušnja, ki mi je svet predstavila v popolnoma drugačni luči. Mogoče res, da sem s fantoma delila svoje znanje, vendar sta mi ravno onadva pokazala kaj je pogum, kaj pomeni imeti upanje, ko svet kot ga poznaš razpada okoli tebe. Izgubila sta čisto vse. Svoj dom, svoje prijatelje, bila sta ločena od svojih družin, obtičala sta v azilnem domu, kjer nista imela početi kaj drugega kot čakati. Ko sem ju nekega dne vprašala, če sta srečna, sta se le spogledala in eden od njiju je odgovoril: „Seveda sva. Zakaj ne bi bila? Življenje je dobro, imava vse kar potrebujeva“. Ob njegovih besedah sem imela solze v očeh. Ostala sta polna upanja in optimizma tudi po posledicah nesmiselne, krvave vojne, ki jima je vzela mladost, a jima ni mogla vzeti njunih sanj. Prostovoljstvo je pomembno, ker ti da možnost za takšne dragocene lekcije, ki sem jim ne da določiti cene, saj segajo preko tega.

Naše poti so se po spletu okoliščin čez nekaj časa razšle, vendar ju je bom nikoli pozabila in sem se jaz verjetno naučila več od njiju, kot pa onadva od mene. Vedno bosta imela posebno mesto v mojem srcu, ker sta mi pokazala pot do nečesa boljšega, pot do sreče in izpolnjenosti. Zame sta onadva tista, ki sta uspešna.

Viri:

1. SSKJ geslo: uspeh - http://bos.zrc-sazu.si/cgi/a03.exe?name=sskj_testa&expression=uspeh&hs=1

2. Suffering Souls - http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/11/10/suffering-souls

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

Sometimes, certain questions just pop randomly in my head. I'm in the period, when my peers are getting married, having children, creating their own homes, working real jobs ... The word success is thrown around a lot over cups of coffee by those who are yet to attain all of that. But what does it really mean? Dictionary.com defines it as this:
 1. achieving or having achieved success.
2. having attained wealth, position, honors, or the like (1)

It doesn't make sense to me, because none of the above seems relevant to the way I perceive people. There has to be more to it. I want to know whether someone is a good person, how much have they contributed to their community, do they have integrity, are they honest, do they treat people with respect ... It's something that can't be measured with money, material possessions or status in society. The easiest thing is to look at outward marks and label people accordingly: successful, loser, shy, quiet, life of the party ... It does great injustice to people who may not be up to society's standards. There is an excellent article in the New Yorker called Suffering Souls. The main focus are psychopaths, but it also mentions the following: "The most agreeable vocation for psychopaths, according to Hare, is business. In his second book, “Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work,” written with Paul Babiack, Hare flirts with pop psychology when he points out that many traits that may be desirable in a corporate context, such as ruthlessness, lack of social conscience, and single-minded devotion to success, would be considered psychopathic outside of it." (2)

I found it interesting because you run into these traits again and again in the newspapers while reading about heads of companies, managers and the like, whose crimes are slowly being uncovered and carry the blame for the current financial crisis my country is still struggling with. But they are also the ones who are considered successful, the ones who made it, the ones who have it all. Why would anyone want to aspire to benefit from the suffering of other people, from lying, from cheating, from stealing? Is this the legacy we are leaving behind for our children?

This is why I find charity and volunteering so important and I was angered by comments under the article of a national newspaper, which was talking about those two topics. People were writing things such as: "Why would I do anything for free?; Why would I help someone if nobody did anything to help me?; I will raise my children to take care of themselves, not to do something for free". You can't confuse volunteer work with unpaid internships, they are two completely different worlds. 

It broke my heart. I always found volunteering very enriching and I never thought about getting something in return. There were times, when I was grateful to be able to have the opportunity to do these things and I learned a lot from it. I remember the time last year when I was having German lessons with two Syrian refugees, who were a couple of years younger than me. I had plenty of free time and I've been following the war in Syria for quite some time, so I signed up as soon as I saw the ad for volunteer German lessons for refugees. They were Syrian Kurds, one of them was from Aleppo, where the main front-line is right now. 

 It was a very precious and humbling experience for me. I might share my knowledge but those boys showed me what courage is, what does it mean to have hope, when the world is falling apart around you. They lost everything. Their home, their friends, they got separated from their families, stuck in asylum seekers home with little to do, but wait. But one day, when I asked them, if they're happy, they looked at each other and one of them answered: "Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be? Life is good, we have everything we need." I had tears in my eyes when I heard this. They remained hopeful and optimistic in the aftermath of a senseless, bloody war that took their youth away, but they still had dreams for the future. Volunteering matters because you can learn many precious lessons and they are one of those things that you can't put a price on, it goes beyond that. 

Our paths went apart after a while, but I will never forget them and I probably learned more from them than they did for me. They will always have a special place in my heart, for showing me the way to something better, the way to happiness and fulfilment. For me, they are the ones who are successful.

Sources: 
- 1 : http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/successful
- 2: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/11/10/suffering-souls

International Girl Child Day/Svetovni dan deklic

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
I wrote this text in Slovenian and in English for Kids Are the World, but it's an issue very close to my heart and I wanted to share it here as well. I saw the importance of education for girls in the developing world first hand and I think it's very important to continue raising awareness. Education is the most powerful tool against poverty! 

Our little girl in the Gambia, Fatima, started nursery school last week and without the help of a sponsor, she would probably never be able to to do and become one of those 65 million girls worldwide who remain uneducated. She is the only child of a very young single mother and we'll do everything in our power to support her in making a better future for herself. Every person counts and every individual can make a difference in the world. 

International Girl Child Day 11.10.2014: "Empowering adolescent girls: Ending the cycle of violence"

Have you ever thought, what is it like, when a girl can't eat breakfast in the morning, go to school or kindergarten, learn and have a safe and stable childhood? This is the reality of many girls in developing countries. There is no time for school, play, relaxation, whispering secrets with friends, playing with Barbies, reading or exploring her surroundings. A lot of girls worldwide still have to face discrimination these days, simply because they are girls. But it's of vital importance that we take action against these problems for the following reasons:

• for each extra year a girl spends in school, her income raises for 15 to 20%
• if 10% more girls go to school, the GDP of the country raises for 3% on average
• an educated woman will marry later and she will have less children, who will also be more healthy
• women invest more of their income into their family than men
• each extra year of a mother's schooling lessens infant mortality for 5 to 10%

As you can see, the facts speak for themselves. If you empower a girl with education, she will change the lives of everyone around her. Without that, there is a greater chance that she will marry young, have children early and spend the rest of her life in poverty. Countries in development see 1 out of 3 girls getting married before they turn 18. That is 14 million girls per year, almost 39 thousand every day and 1 every 3 minutes.

Every girl has a right to education, but the sad fact is that 65 million girls never get to go to school and even more are struggling to stay where they belong – in the classroom. Girls are taken out of school every day, forced to marry young or become victims of violence at school. There are many obstacles that prevent them from getting an education: early and forced marriage, poverty, poor health and nutrition, violence at school, long distance to school, school fees and other school related expenses, family care and household duties and lack of toilets just for girls.

Girls in The Gambia

Gambia has been successful in achieving an equal primary school enrolment ratio between boys and girls: 103 girls for 100 boys, but this number gets lower with every extra school year. The finishing rate for primary school is 74 girls for 100 boys. Girls finish their education with 6 years of lower primary school on average. 87 girls for 100 boys go to secondary school. They face similar difficulties as their peers in other developing countries: poverty, school fees and other school expenses, taking care of family and the household, early marriage, early pregnancy, … The literacy rate among adult women in the Gambia is currently around 25%. 46.5 % of girls get married before they turn 18. They have no chances of going back to school and continuing their education after that.

Sponsor a child: http://www.kidsaretheworld.com/sponsor-a-child-2/

Svetovni dan deklic 11.10. 2014

Ste kdaj pomislili, kako je, če deklica zjutraj ne more pojesti zajtrka, oditi v šolo ali vrtec, se izobraževati in imeti varno in stabilno otroštvo? Za deklico v državi v razvoju pa je to realnost. V njenem dnevu ni časa ali priložnosti za šolo, za igro, za sprostitev, za šepetanje skrivnosti s prijateljicami, za igranje z barbikami, branje knjig in raziskovanje okolice. V današnjih časih se veliko deklic po vsem svetu še vedno sooča z diskriminacijo preprosto zato, ker so deklice. Vendar pa je bistvenega pomena, da ob teh težavah čim prej ukrepamo iz naslednjih razlogov:

• za vsako dodatno leto, ki ga deklica preživi v šoli, njen dohodek naraste za 15 do 20%
• če 10% več deklic obiskuje šolo, se BDP države v povprečju zviša za 3%
• izobražena ženska se bo kasneje poročila in bo imela manj otrok, ki bodo tudi bolj zdravi
• ženske v svoje družine vložijo več svojega dohodka kot moški
• vsako dodatno leto materinega šolanja zmanjša umrljivost dojenčka za 5 do 10%

Dejstva govorijo zase. Če deklica pridobi notranjo moč in večjo samozavest z izobrazbo, bo spremenila svet vseh okrog sebe. Brez tega pa je večja verjetnost, da se bo mlada poročila, imela zgodaj otroke in preživela svoje življenje v revščini. V državah v razvoju se pred dopolnjenim 18. letom poroči 1 od 3 deklet: to je 14 milijonov deklet na leto, skoraj 39 tisoč vsak dan in 1 vsake 3 minute.

Vsaka deklica ima pravico do izobrazbe, vendar je zelo žalosten podatek, da 65 milijonov deklic ne more obiskovati šole, še več pa se jih bori, da bi lahko ostale tam, kamor spadajo – v učilnici. Vsak dan deklice jemljejo iz šol, jih premlade poročijo ali pa postanejo žrtev nasilja v šoli. Vendar pa je veliko ovir, zaradi katerih se ne morejo izobraževati: zgodnja in prisilna poroka, revščina, slabo zdravje in prehrana, skrb za družino in za gospodinjstvo, nasilje v šoli, dolga razdalja do šole, šolnine in drugi s šolanjem povezani stroški in pomanjkanje ločenih sanitarij.

Deklice v Gambiji

V Gambiji so na ravni osnovne šole uspeli doseči enako razmerje med dečki in deklicami. Šolo obiskujejo 103 deklice na 100 dečkov, vendar pa to število začne upadati z vsakim dodatnim letom šolanja. Osnovno šolo dokonča le 74 deklic na 100 dečkov. V povprečju deklice svoje izobraževanje končajo po 6 letih nižje osnovne šole. Srednjo šolo obiskuje 87 deklet na 100 fantov.

Pri izobraževanju se srečujejo s podobnimi ovirami kot druge vrstnice v državah v razvoju: revščina, šolnine in s šolo povezani stroški, skrb za družino in družinska opravila, zgodnja poroka, zgodnja nosečnost … Med odraslimi ženskami je tako trenutno pismenih le okrog 25%. Pred dopolnjenim 18. letom se v Gambiji poroči 46.5 % deklet. Možnosti za vrnitev v šolo in dodatno učenje s tem nimajo več.

Viri/Sources:

http://becauseiamagirl.ca/the-girl-issue

http://www.unicef.org/gambia/children_1270.html

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/gambia/literacy-rate-adult-female-percent-of-females-ages-15-and-above-wb-data.html

Botrstvo v Gambiji: http://zaotrokesveta.com/postani-boter/kako-postanes-boter/

Plačilo šolnine za eno leto: http://zaotrokesveta.com/postani-boter/letna-solnina-in-solstvo-v-gambiji/

World Teachers Day / Svetovni dan učiteljev

I've written this for the Travel As A Volunteer Facebook page in Slovenian and in English.

English

World Teachers Day 5. 10. 2014: Invest in the future – Invest in teachers!

Teachers are an important investment for the future of all countries. Modern generations are growing up in uncertain times and they don't know what the future has in store for them. Therefore their teachers are the ones, who can make sure, that they will continue their life journey equipped with the right skills.

This year's 5^th of October marks 20 years of celebrating World Teachers Day, which commemorates the signing of Recommendation concerning the status of teachers in 1966. It was proclaimed World Teachers Day in 1993 in order to better acquaint the public with the mission of teachers.

There are many countries where students can't get a quality education due to a shortage of teachers. Classrooms all over the world are in dire need of more staff – we need 1.4 million teachers – who are of utmost importance for universal basic education. Quality also poses a problem alongside quantity. It's a common occurrence for teachers to be working without proper training and resources. We're currently facing a global learning crisis, because there are 250 million children who never learn how to read and write. 58 million school-aged children don't have a chance to go to school, 53% of them are girls. The biggest obstacle for families are school fees as most of them live under the international poverty line (less than 1,25 $ per day) and they simply can't afford to spend money on education.

The largest shortage of teachers is in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Gambia is also located, 0.9 million representing 63% of the overall need worldwide. There is on average 1 teacher for 35 students in Gambia, but the real numbers are usually much higher, as high as 70 to 100 students in one cramped classroom. Teaching is made harder by inappropriate working conditions, lack of school books and school supplies, distance to the school, inadequate toilets that are not separated for boys and girls, most of the schools don't have electricity … The literacy rate in this country is 46%.

Education is the most powerful tool for overcoming poverty, therefore we need to invest more in teachers. They are the ones who can open the door to a better future for our children! Every child should have access to basic education, which is a right and should never be a privilege.

Slovensko

Svetovni dan učiteljev 5. 10. 2014: Gradimo prihodnost – vlagajmo v učitelje!

Učitelji so pomembna naložba za prihodnost vseh držav. Današnji otroci odraščajo v negotovih časih in ne vedo, kaj jih čaka v prihodnosti, zato so prav učitelji tisti, ki lahko poskrbijo, da bodo življenjsko pot nadaljevali opremljeni z ustreznimi veščinami.

Letos 5. oktobra praznujemo že 20. obletnico svetovnega dneva učiteljev, ki ga obeležujemo v spomin na podpis Priporočil o položaju učiteljev leta 1966. Za svetovni dan učiteljev je bil proglašen leta 1993, z namenom da bi ljudem približal poslanstvo učiteljev.

V veliko državah učenci zaradi pomanjkanja učiteljev ne morejo dobiti kvalitetne izobrazbe. V učilnicah vsega sveta primanjkuje 1.4 milijona učiteljev, ki pa so nujno potrebni za univerzalno osnovno izobrazbo. Poleg števila pa je problem tudi kvaliteta pouka. Vse preveč pogosto se dogaja, da učitelji delajo brez primerne izobrazbe in brez osnovnih sredstev. Trenutno se soočamo z globalno krizo na področju izobraževanja, saj se kar 250 milijonov otrok nikoli ne nauči pisati in brati. 58 milijonov otrok, ki bi morali obiskovati osnovno šolo, te možnosti nima. Med njimi je 53% deklic. Največja ovira za družine, ki v veliki večini živijo pod svetovnim pragom revščine (manj kot 1.25$ na dan), so šolnine, ki mnogim predstavljajo prevelik strošek.

Največ učiteljev primanjkuje ravno v podsaharski Afriki, kjer se nahaja tudi Gambija, 0.9 milijona kar predstavlja 63% potrebe po učiteljih za cel svet. V Gambiji v povprečju pride 1 učitelj na 35 učencev, vendar so številke pogosto še precej večje, tudi do 70 ali 100 učencev. Poučevanje še dodatno otežujejo neprimerni delovni pogoji, pomanjkanje šolskih knjig in šolskih potrebščin, oddaljenost od šole, neustrezne sanitarije, ki niso ločene za dečke in deklice, večina šol nima elektrike, … Pismenost v državi je 46%.

Izobrazba je najmočnejše orodje proti revščini, zato je nujno, da se začne več vlagati v učitelje, saj so prav oni tisti, ki lahko otrokom odprejo vrata v boljšo prihodnost. Vsak otrok bi moral imeti dostop vsaj do osnovne izobrazbe, ki je pravica in ne bi smela biti privilegij.

Sources/ Viri:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/world-teachersday-2014

http://www.accessgambia.com/information/education.html