The change is in your pocket

Dire shortage of child specialists threatens success of homes for abused children

Posted on October 31, 2012  /  Comments Off

Organisations dealing with abused children have sounded the alarm over the dire shortage of child psychologists in South Africa, where abuse — particularly sexual abuse — is among the highest in the world.

The Heaven’s Nest children’s Centre in Ottery, a haven for abandoned and abused children and HIV/Aids orphans, is among the many in desperate need of volunteer child psychologists and occupational therapists. The need for assistance from these professionals is “urgent and ongoing”, said Eleanor Bester, Heaven’s Nest coordinator.

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Mexico’s new president faces long grind on poverty

Posted on August 1, 2012  /  Comments Off

More than 12 million Mexicans have joined the ranks of the poor since 2005, leaving July 1 presidential election winner Enrique Pena Nieto facing a tough battle to live up to his election promises.

Pena Nieto has said he will bring jobs, education and clean water to wide swaths of the country where poverty is a stubborn reminder of successive governments’ failure to unlock Mexico’s full economic potential.

He has made firm commitments: the day his campaign began, he pledged to lift 15 million people out of poverty.

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Veil ban robs Muslim women of jobs and education, says Amnesty

Posted on May 8, 2012  /  Comments Off

Bans on full-face veils in France and Belgium and a failure by other European countries to stop employers from enforcing informal dress codes means Muslim women are being denied jobs and education, Amnesty International said.  (read more…)