Saturday, December 23, 2006

Homelessness in South Africa by Yu Jihun Study Abroad Class of 2008




A Profile of South Africa

Population: 42.5 million people (as of mid 1997)
Population Density: 35 people per square kilometer
Birth Rate: 27 per thousand population each year
Death Rate: 12 per thousand population each year
Natural Increase: 1.5 % each year
Doubling Time: 46 years at current rate
Infant Mortality Rate: 53 deaths per thousand live births
Total Fertility Rate: 3.2 children during a woman's lifetime
Younger than 15 years old: 35 % of population
Older than 6o years old: 5 % of population
Source: http://www.alsagerschool.co.uk/subjects/sub_content/geography/Gpop/HTMLENH/country/za.htm


Causes of Homelessness in South Africa.

1. Low opportunity for employment
“The unemployment rate is passing 30% and the 44 million people of that country rely upon a total workforce of 15 million. Job opportunities are virtually nonexistent and the economy of South Africa continues to fall below third-world standards - 4.4”
2. Settler problem
“An estimated seven million people in South Africa live in 'informal settlements' or ‘squatter camps’ - and that number is set to grow as more rural dwellers flock to urban areas, escaping drought and seeking jobs. The problem is compounded by illegal immigrants from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi - about 5 million - who are fleeing drought, economic difficulties and political oppression in their own countries. These refugees come on top of an already frightening growth rate Africa's population is projected to double in 23 years."

Source:http://www.alsagerschool.co.uk/subjects/sub_content/geography/Gpop/HTMLENH/patp/pp86.htm

3. Gap between small income class and large income class.
In South Africa, the gap between the small income class and the large income is very big. The people who earn much money are very few, but poor people in South Africa are numerous, so, South Africa’s society is very unbalanced, in my opinion.


Agencies working in South Africa to help the homeless?

1. AAPCI/AFRICA
According to the AAPCI website AAPCI/AFRICA is, “an independent subsidiary of the African American Planning Commission, was conceived in 1998 as a nonpartisan, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). AAPCI/AFRICA's mission is to collaborate with established NGOs on the African continent in an effort to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which continues to decimate whole communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

“AAPCI/AFRICA's strategy is to develop a community healthcare center and provide healthcare services to the most marginalized, vulnerable and underserved. In addition to medical services, the health center will serve as a means by which AAPCI/AFRICA can disseminate information to local communities through Outreach efforts and public information campaigns.”

Source: http://www.aapci.org/about/index.htm

2. UNICEF
United Nations Children's Fund. Works to help poor children.

Source: http://www.unicef.org/whatwedo/index.html

What these agencies are doing in order to help the homeless

APPCI/AFRICA

Serenity House
“The goal of this important project is to develop safe, permanent, affordable housing with on-site support services for homeless families. With our financial support, the African American Planning Commission can develop much needed affordable housing.”

Source: http://www.aapci.org/about/founder_bio.htm

UNICEF

1. Child protection
“UNICEF believes that the protection of children is crucial to their survival, health, and well-being. Everyday millions of children are exploited, abused, or are victims of violence. Bought and sold like commodities, children are forced to be soldiers, prostitutes, sweatshop workers, and servants. Abuse, exploitation and violence, occurring usually in private, are often elements in organized crime and corruption. Only time reveals the consequences: children uneducated, unhealthy and impoverished.”
2. Early childhood
“Every child must be ensured the best start in life – their future, and indeed the future of their communities, nations and the whole world depends on it.
Every year, some 132 million infants around the world begin an extraordinary sprint – from defenceless newborns to becoming proactive young children ready for school. And every year, countless numbers of them are stopped in their tracks – deprived, in one way or another, of the love, care, nurturing, health, nutrition and protection that they need to survive, grow and develop. Nearly 11 million children die before their fifth birthday each year and tens of millions more are left with physical and/or mental disabilities or learning impairment – solely because they and their caregivers lack the basic conditions needed for young children to survive and thrive.”
Source: http://www.unicef.org/whatwedo/index.html

What we can do to help the homeless in South Africa.

Research the AAPCI‘s activities and try to contribute a little money.
I think that we should know about the homelessness problem and try to help the homeless around us.


I researched homelessness in South Africa. In my research, I found that there are many homeless in South Africa. There are many causes of homelessness. About seven million people are settlers from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi because of economic problems, drought, political problems and so on. Also, according to the UN, about 500,000 families have been evicted from their homes and many people, including children, have been killed in the chaos surrounding the evictions process. Therefore, low opportunities, economic problems, and the settler problem are the causes of homelessness in South Africa.

My research is based on official agencies’ research. So, these numerical values are not exact. I think there are more homeless in South Africa than the research shows. I think all of the people in the world should try to help the homeless because they also have human rights.


Sunday, December 17, 2006

Homelessness in the Philippines By Yuka Ikegami Study Abroad Class of 2008


I researched homelessness in the Philippines. First, I’ll tell you about the population of the Philippines. According to the 2000 census, the population of the Philippines was 76,504,077 and the population growth rate was 2.36% per annum. Now, the population of the Philippines is 87,857,473. That’s very surprising, I think. Second, there are only 14,891,127 houses, and 14344 homes have no walls, Also, in the Philippines, between a third to a half of the urban population doesn’t have a good place to live. So they live in informal settlements, conditions that are illegal, and so on.

There are several reasons why people become homeless in the Philippines, One reason is poor people lose their houses, Also unemployment causes homelessness, and I think there is a relationship between “migrant workers” and homelessness because they come there from another place.

There are agencies that help reduce homelessness. One example is “PHPF”- Philippine Homeless People's Federation. These agencies have programs to develop “savings & money”, “income and livelihood”, and “government partnerships” So, they are very kind.,







Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Homelessness in Ethiopia by Lisa Ishii Study Abroad Class of 2008






I researched about Ethiopian homelessness. There are many homeless people and street children. However, nobody knows the truth because many Ethiopians sometimes become homeless but at other times, they are not homelessness. Some street children are homeless but others are not, they just work on the street. So it is difficult to count the real number of homeless people and street children.

In Nazareth, which is a town in south-eastern Ethiopia, there are 5,138 street children living there. The average age of a street child is 12.9 years old. 90% of them are boys and the other 10% are girls. About 50% of this town’s street children left their families before their 10th birthday. Most of them have jobs to keep them living.





Many agencies help Ethiopian homeless people and street children. For example, UNICEF helps street children to keep them healthy. It is an extremely important thing for them to keep helping homelessness and street children.



Statistics on Ethiopia

  • 50,000 to 60,000 street kids in the capital alone (Source: http://www.oneworld.net/)
  • 5,138 street children in Nazareth, a town in south-eastern Ethiopia
  • 4,626 (90%) were males
  • 512 (10%) were females
  • average age is 12.9
  • 312 (52.3%) of the children left their families before their tenth birthday.
  • 109 (18.3%) went to school at that time
  • 326 (54.6%) of the children had a house to sleep in at night
  • 271 (45.4%) were completely homeless.
  • 530 (88.8%) of the children had at least one of their parents alive.
  • Most of the street children have jobs to keep a living. Only 76 (12.7%) were found to be living on begging. (Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)

Friday, December 08, 2006

Homelessness in Japan by Emiko Itai Study Abroad Class of 2008


1. What is the population of Japan?

127,333,002

2. How many people are homeless in Japan?

24,090

3. What is the cause of homelessness in Japan?

Many people lose their jobs and new jobs have been decreasing. So many people can’t find
jobs.

4. What agencies are working in Japan to help the homeless?

THE BIG ISSUE 


This is The Big Issue’s logo


http://www.bigissuejapan.com/

5. What are these agencies doing in order to help the homeless?

They make a job for the homeless. ‘BIG ISSUE’ is a magazine for homeless to buy. They get it for 90 yen from BIGISSUE JAPAN. Then, they sell it for 200yen. So they can get 110 yen.

6. What can we do to help the homeless in Japan?

There are two things we can do to help the homeless in JAPAN. First we can buy a BIG ISSUE. When we buy it we can learn some things about the world, and a homeless person can get money. These are both good reasons to buy the BIG ISSUE. Next, we shouldn’t do senseless things. For example we should eat everything every meal. We shouldn’t put food out in the garbage. This is a very rude thing to do when there are homeless people who can’t find a good meal. We can eat when we are hungry but they can’t eat anytime they want.

Finally, a picture of homeless people in JAPAN