Term Project Presentations Response
The term project presentations facilitated self-reflection on how selfish of a person I really am—selfish of having grown up in a loving, supportive family, selfish of living in a safe, well-off community, selfish of having the opportunity to have a great education, selfish of wasting our earth’s quickly depleting resources, and selfish of having good health. One could say having all these things is not selfish, rather a blessing, but I abuse these blessings. I admit, at times my personality reflects the type of person who sulks in self-pity over my so-called problems—issues such as stress from school, unappreciative boyfriends, friends, and family, and the inability to like what I see oftentimes when I look into the mirror. And the way I deal with my problems is even more selfish—I’ve freaked out at people, abused medication, been bulimic, and had suicidal thoughts. But really who doesn’t have problems. And outside of my bubble of ignorance to the world around me, people have much bigger problems.
Which brings me to the two presentations I chose to reflect on: Goal 6 – Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases and Goal 4 – Reduce child mortality.
[BLOG 8]
[Goal 6 – Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases]
[Section presentation – Friday, May 3, 2oo8]
[South Africa]
[Corporation → market shift or funded initiative]
I thought the section presentation on combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases was both informative and aesthetically pleasing. Sadly, South Africa is the hub of one of the most severe AIDS epidemic in the world, making it appropriate for the goal’s region. Likewise, the realm of response was appropriate because corporations are essential to reform in areas with a weak infrastructure. Though I was aware of the HIV/AIDS epidemic prior to the presentation, I did not know much about the epidemic and culture in South Africa. According to the presentation, the UN declared combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases a millennium goal because 33.2 million people are infected with AIDS, and AIDS is preventable to some extent. In South Africa alone, 5 million people have AIDS which equates to 10% of the population. Contributing factors to the epidemic in South Africa include rape, cultural/ethnic barriers, political opposition, conspiracy theories, social stigma, and ignorance. The group further broke down the contributing factors stemming from culture into polygamy, sexual cleansing, and traditional healing. As a response, the group turned to corporations because they have a financial advantage over the government. Current problems which need to be corrected within corporations are misinformation or lack of information about AIDS in the workforce and miscommunication between management and employees. The presentation also covered a specific response by corporations to resolve the current epidemic—the ABC education strategy which promotes absence before marriage and condoms. As evident by the information stated above, the group provided a rich background of the issue and an appropriate response. I believe that major corporations have the responsibility to serve humanity—“with great power comes great responsibility�—and I respect those corporations who acknowledge that responsibility.
[BLOG 9]
[Goal 4 – Reduce child mortality]
[Honors presentation – Thursday, May 2, 2oo8]
[Sierra Leone]
[Corporation → market shift or funded initiative]
According to “U.N.: Child mortality highest in Sierra Leone: Under-5 death rate reduced by 23 percent worldwide since 1990� by MSNBC on January 22, 2008, as of 2006, “Sierra Leone had the highest child mortality rate, with 270 deaths per 1,000 births� and “a newborn in Sierra Leone has the lowest chance in the world of surviving until age 5.� This disheartening statistic makes Sierra Leone an appropriate region for the millennium development goal to reduce child mortality. And akin to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, corporations have the advantage over government to initiate change so a corporate realm of response was again appropriate for the goal. However unlike the section presentation on HIV/AIDS, this presentation’s call to pathos through images rather than startling statistics drew my attention. The group did a great job presenting the information; however, I believe more emphasis was placed on the images—“a picture is worth a thousand words.� I think this emphasis was further reinstated in the YouTube video the group made which displayed images and quotes rather than statistics to music. The YouTube video was successful in reaching out to the viewer’s emotions because they showed a series of pictures of happy, healthy children to an upbeat tune with children laughing in the background. Then with the removal of the laughter and a change in music, a series of images are shown of children with completely emaciated bodies, tattered clothes, boils on their skin, and who are helpless or are receiving minimal medical care. The group talked about the weak infrastructure and poor resources of the Sierra Leone government and inhumane military tactics. I honestly cannot even begin to grasp how horrible it would be to have my entire family shot to disconnect all emotional ties or to watch a soldier mercilessly chop off another person’s limbs. The group also touched on the movie Blood Diamond which is based on the corruption and tragedy surrounding conflict diamonds and child soldiers in Sierra Leone. I think I could relate more to the presentation after they mentioned Blood Diamond because I have seen the movie, and for me it was one of those movies that I just really connected to and which made me both sick and sad. Another strong point of the group was their knowledge of the different organizations currently helping reduce child mortality rates. A few organizations they mentioned were UNICEF, currently the largest organization helping Sierra Leone, Feed My Starving Children, an organization which we as residents in Minneapolis, MN, could help by bagging food for an hour or so, and Nothingbutnets.net, an organization which gives people the opportunity to donate a mosquito net for $10 to reduce the risk of malaria. I also think by choosing these organizations to talk about, the group presenting on this goal made the issue attainable for each individual in the audience to respond to which I thought was great.
"U.N.: Child Mortality Highest in Sierra Leone: Under-5 Death Rate Reduced by 23 Percent Worldwide Since 1990." MSNBC. 22 Jan. 2008. 4 May 2008