The change is in your pocket

Poor versus business in Somerset West

Posted on October 17, 2012  /  Comments Off

A soup kitchen serving poor people in Somerset West struggles to stay open following pressure for it to relocate from the ward councillor and a business woman, according to a report by GroundUp News.

The Helderberg Street People’s Centre in Somerset West cares for poor and marginalised people. It is a soup kitchen, but it also offers counselling and support to people with drug and alcohol problems, amongst other
things.

The centre is currently “battling to stay in its present location, in town, while certain vested interests are determined to move it out,” says Ian Greer, the centre’s chairman.

Click here to read full story http://www.groundup.org.za/content/poor-versus-business-somerset-west

Killer’ liquor sachets banned in Zambia

Posted on September 27, 2012  /  Comments Off

In a move to crackdown on alcohol abuse, Zambia’s government has banned the manufacture and sale of liquor in small plastic sachets commonly known as “Tujilijili”. Cheap, widely available and easily concealed, these popular “killer sachets” are blamed for an increase in alcohol dependency amongst young adults and poor communities, Jorrit Meulenbeek and David Mwanza report from Zambia.

About a dozen men aimlessly wander around what seems like a prison courtyard. Most of them appear completely disoriented, a confused gaze in their eyes. A shivering old man staggers around the area in circles with a friendly but absent-minded smile on his face, continually picking imaginary insects from his body. “Doyo,” (insect) he mumbles, as he helpfully points out a birthmark in the neck of one of the nurses.

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Marijuana legal reform reaches ‘tipping point’ in US

Posted on July 4, 2012  /  4 Comments

In what may be a silent admission that the “war on drugs” has failed abysmally, there’s been a flurry of recent activity signalling that, much like same-sex marriage, marijuana policies have reached a tipping point in the US.

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