Surviving...

Surviving..., originally uploaded by carf.

- Surviving the impossible of human development: 500 years of abuse, but how much longer will the Guarani people endure the changes and demands of the dominant world?

A major problem today for the indigenous people's healthy survival and integrity is how to address the imbalance created by the non-indian society, caused when one controls the indian's way of life by strictly demarcating very limited and inferior areas for them to live and practice their traditional way of life (whilst the non-indians continues to destroy more and more of their natural territory to sustain their own insatiable needs), creating dependency on irresponsible government assistance programs and forcing upon them the non-indian's economic system to be able to survive in this new unbalanced world (with not even the basic know-how or education to do so), also deciding how they are to live (exist) and showing very little respect for their peculiarities.

In such a scenario, the indigenous people's lives become merely a tough plight for survival, barely hanging on to their very personal spiritual customs, but far from living the "ideal" life they have lived for centuries, with traditions passed on from generation to generation.

Today the indigenous people of Brazil are imprisoned in the non-indian's world without the means to defend themselves. No matter what national or international legislation exists to protect their rights, the genocide continues......

See my Facebook for more Social Critisism

Sobrevivendo...

- Sobrevivendo o impossível do desenvolvimento humano: 500 anos de abuso, mas quanto tempo mais irá o povo Guarani suportar as mudanças e exigências do mundo dominante?

Um grande problema hoje para a sobrevivência saudável dos povos indígenas e a integridade deles, é como lidar com o desequilíbrio criado pela sociedade não-indígena, causada quando essa sociedade controla a maneira de vida dos índios pela estrita demarcação de áreas muito limitadas e inferiores para que possam viver e praticar a seu modo de vida tradicional (enquanto os não-índios continuam a destruir cada vez mais o seu território natural para sustentar suas próprias necessidades insaciáveis), criando dependência de programas irresponsáveis de assistência do governo e impondo-lhes o não-índio sistema econômico para sejam capazes de sobreviver neste novo mundo desequilibrado (mesmo sem o básico know-how ou educação para fazê-lo), também decidindo como eles devem viver (existir) e mostrando pouco respeito pelas suas peculiaridades.

Em tal cenário, as vidas dos povos indígenas tornam-se meramente uma situação difícil para a sobrevivência, apenas segurando em suas costumes muito pessoais e espirituais, mas longe de viver a vida "ideal" que eles viveram por séculos, com as tradições passadas de geração em geração.

Hoje os povos indígenas do Brasil são presos no mundo do não-índio sem os meios para se defender. Não importa que a legislação nacional ou internacional existe para proteger seus direitos, o genocídio continua....

Veja meu Facebook album Críticas Socias

Embrace the stars...

Embrace the stars..., originally uploaded by carf.

A short RETROSPECTIVE of 2007 – Watch our latest Video HERE!

Reaching for a Star Campaign - 2007
To Date: USD$775,00

Beginning with three contributions of USD$50,00 each for the "purchase" of three personalized CHRISTMAS GIFT CERTIFICATES to friends and family from a Flickr member, the Reaching for a Star Campaign 2007 got off to a roaring start this week.

I hope many of Flickr's members, new to the community, will discover this alternative method of giving at Christmas, ideal for friends and family whom you feel already have everything.

Still having problems trying to decide what to give at Christmas?
Then this is surely the ideal gift that everyone will appreciate. Our children certainly do!

Simply go to our Christmas Gift Certificate Campaign Page and decide how much you would like to give by clicking on one of the donation buttons provided on the page. You can give any amount you desire.

This will bring you to our PayPal payments page ( PayPal is a global leader in online payment solutions with more than 153 million accounts worldwide. No need to worry, you don't need to have an account because payments can be made using most credit cards).
Don't forget to leave a message on the PayPal payments form stating who your certificate is to be made out to and from whom it is being given. We will then prepare your personalized gift certificate with those names and e-mail it off to you ready for printing on your desktop printer. Fast and easy without even leaving your computer.

100% of your gift goes towards the Hummingbird Project, attending more than 600 underprivileged children. This year's campaign funds will be used for purchasing musical instruments for our new community prevention centre in Sítio Joaninha due to open in February 2008.
This will be the first social development program available to at-risk community children in the region and a most important step towards bettering their lives.

Please join us to make it the success they deserve!

Gregory J. Smith
Social Entrepreneur and Founder
The Children At Risk Foundation - CARF

Brazilian innocence...

Brazilian innocence..., originally uploaded by carf.

Photo by Gregory J. Smith - São Paulo, BRAZIL.

Underprivileged but happy children like Tamiris may soon be able to enrichen their lives by participating at our preliminary community prevention centre in their very own community, the Sítio Joaninha. It is the childhood innocence of kids like Tamaris that drives us hard enough to believe in what we do and why we do it. For her reason and for the reason of many others like her, we are preparing our new community centre in an existing building until we receive planning permission for the actual centre that we aim to set-up in her abandoned community.

You see, children like Tamiris don’t have time to wait until corrupt politicians put their minds to where their public funding is and start doing something to benefit the needy populations of this country instead of enrichening their own lives. Brazil is by far a poor country, but who will change the reality of the likes of Tamiris and millions of other angels like her if we don’t? As long as our society continues to accept impunity as if it was just another of those ridiculous Soap Operas blindly fleeting past on our TV-screens, the needs of children like her will continue to be neglected..........

Our actions can’t wait either, so we aim to tend to Tamiris’ needs and better the lives of many other children like her, whilst they are still children. Growing-up in preparation for the adult World is never really so very far off for young girls like Tamaris, considering that each year more than 32.000 of them get pregnant before the age of 14 in this country.

With the help of those who are conscious enough to support what we are doing and with the help of those young community youth we are preparing for work in our new community centres, such as the one Tamiris may be lucky enough to experience; her beautiful Jabuticaba eyes might just see new horizons.

Please join us by following the Blog of our Youth Capacity Building Programme, ASAS do Beija-Flor or WINGS of Hummingbird. If you feel you can share something, then leave a comment or just take the liberty to make an online donation whilst you’re there. We need all the support we can get as do all the innocent Angels like Tamiris, my Brazilian reason for doing what I do.............

Little Hannah

Little Hannah, originally uploaded by The Treezy.

Photo by Ed Trillo, USA.

Newborn

Newborn, originally uploaded by blaine davis.

A mother with her daughter and newborn son in Samecouta. This is just before his naming ceremony.

Photo by Blaine Davis, Brooklyn – USA.

Buhay Basura

buhay_basura3, originally uploaded by Edwin_Martinez.

Life in Trash
A place forsaken by men but not by God, a place of waste but also of profit. A place where most would think hope has abandoned....most but not all. Few find this place a paradise to feed their families.

This is from my series of the children whose life evolves in one's trash.

Photo by Edwin Martinez, PHILIPPINES.

Somewhere else

somewhere else, originally uploaded by another story.

Countless on the streets of Senegal, boys, some as young as 4 years old, wander barefoot with plastic cups in their hands, dirty, clothes half missing or torn, begging for change in the darkest of places. They scurry alone across busy streets, small enough to be unseen below a driver’s dashboard, onto the next pitying glance and dismissive gesture.

They are orphans by either natural cause or by intentional circumstance, given by their parents to men who falsely call themselves “imams”, who promise parents money, schooling and safe boarding, but who put these children out to the streets to beg, only to take their earnings at the end of the day, or at times beat them for not earning a quota.

They are truly “the least of these”, and i never saw a smile from any of them.

There was tremendous noise and chaos all around this boy when i took his picture. cars and motorcycles honking, engines gunning, street musicians playing, people yelling, pouring out of stores into busy streets as the siesta time began. He sat totally still, right in the thick of things but completely apart from it, empty bucket at his side, looking for all the world like he was fully somewhere else in his mind’s eye.

I have been asked several times, with a just glint of misgiving and disapproval, how i felt “comfortable” taking photographs of children like this. My answer is the same: I was not comfortable with anything about this situation, but the greatest exploitation of these children is a world of educated people ignorant of their plight, unaware of their existence. that’s why I took this picture. some may disagree, but I will make no apology for it.

Photo by Dana, Pacific Northwest - USA.

Pippi Langstrumpf auf nepalesisch

Pippi Langstrumpf auf nepalesisch, originally uploaded by Uhlenhorst.

Nepalese Pippi Langstrømpe - Nepal 1988.

Photo by Franz U, GERMANY.

Todo es menos

todo es menos, originally uploaded by verboomz.

Photo by Jordi Cañas, SPAIN.

AFRICA - Surma Children

AFRICA - Surma Children, originally uploaded by BoazImages.

Colorful boys from the Surma tribe on the banks of the Kibish river, lower omo valley, Ethiopia.

Photo by Boaz, Nanjing – CHINA.

At Lord's Mercy

At Lord's Mercy, originally uploaded by HappyHorizons.

Photo by Kshitiz Anand, Bangalore - INDIA.

That smile...

That smile..., originally uploaded by Divs Sejpal.

Photo by Divyesh Sejpal, Ahmedabad – INDIA.

At the Door of Knowledge

At the Door of Knowledge, originally uploaded by Meanest Indian.

Outside Qu'ran Class in Raikhad, Ahmedabad.

Photo by Meena Kadri, Ahmedabad – INDIA.

Poooooooolska goooooooola ;-)

Poooooooolska goooooooola ;-), originally uploaded by mivella.

(maybe next time.. ;P)

Photo by Magdalena, Berlin - GERMANY.

Stung Meanchey

, originally uploaded by marcinbab.

Stung Meanchey is an industrial neighborhood on the southwestern outskirts of Phnom Penh. Many tourists pass through it on their way to visit the Killing Fields Memorial at Choeung Ek unaware of the day-in day-out events taking place but a single kilometer off the main road. Every day at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump several hundred people scavenge through Phnom Penh's daily refuse. Most are looking for recyclable materials which they turn in at small local recycling businesses earning themselves an average daily income of about 2000 Cambodian riels (US 50 cents). Most of the people working at Stung Meanchey are teenagers, though I have met children as young as 7 and adults well into their 40s.

Photo by Marcin Babul, Cardiff - UK.

Coo Cooo.. je te vois.

Coo Cooo.. je te vois., originally uploaded by Nádasdy.

A father and child on a Sri Lanka train to Kandy, sometime pre 1995.

Photo by Shawn Koppenhoefer, Lausanne - SWITZERLAND.

Everyone a Changemaker...

Happy Hugging..., originally uploaded by carf.

Happy Hugging!

I know our picture galleries will never reach as many views as 5.724.662 (five million, seven hundred and twenty four thousand, six hundred and sixty two) with 12.956 comments and 36.879 faves but THIS did!!!!

Go give someone a HUG!

The caterpillar

The caterpillar, originally uploaded by gobou.

Little abbey girls during traditionnal festivities in the city of Agboville - Ivory Coast

Photo by Gobou, West Africa.

Primary School

Primary School, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

Red Uniforms.
Boarding School.

The key around this young boy's neck unlocks a metal
chest that contains all of his belongings. In this two-room
building sleep 100 boys; on each bunkbed is a metal chest.
The boys sleep curled up, their metal locker taking up a
third of the bed.

Catherine's Primary School.
Outside Jinja. Uganda. Afrika.
June 14, 2006.

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, Based in East Africa at the moment.

Two kids looking from the window

Two kids looking from the window, originally uploaded by Ragawa.

My son and daughter looking from the window.

Photo by Ragawa Indra Maruti, Kuala Lumpur - MALAYSIA

La Petite Fille De La Mer

La Petite Fille De La Mer, originally uploaded by -saint-.

Taken at Süleymaniye / Istanbul.

Photo by Omer Babadag, Istanbul - TURKIYE.

World Ceasefire Vigil

World Ceasefire Vigil, originally uploaded by carf.

During the last week I’m sure there are many visitors to the Flickr photostreams who have noticed all the small black ribbons that Flickrites are now using as their buddy icons. Those icons represent more than just another Flickr identity, they represent a strong desire for world peace and a stop to the recent war breakout, by the many who have chosen to wear them for this peace action, an important action against yet another war to destroy thousands of innocent citizens, their families, their homes and their countries.

This is why over 4000 Flickrites decided to unite their actions this last week in a group called MUNDO UNO

…and the group is constantly growing as one of the fastest and most
meaningful on Flickr.

* MUNDO UNO means ONE WORLD.
* MUNDO UNO is a call for peace.
* MUNDO UNO is a virtual protest against the madness of the war.
* MUNDO UNO is a way to say: stop the killing of civilians in both sides.

Shall we be ONE, one world, one face, one people to change this?

I hope and believe so and that is why I am asking you, my Flickr friends and contacts and anyone else visiting this Blog, to be part of this important action for World Peace.

Please join us today and take part in the group's CEASEFIRE action in
support of Amnesty International's WORLD CEASEFIRE VIGIL.
More information about this can be found in the group's discussion
threads.

I thank you and I'm sure our group members thank you.
MUNDO UNO

Gregory J. Smith (CARF)
Social Entrepreneur and Founder
Children At Risk Foundation - CARF

Children Of Hope

Children Of Hope (30), originally uploaded by Parc Cruz.

Photo taken last July 30, 2006 at Baseco Compound in Manila. This is a settlement near the pier (Manila Bay). The place covers around 300 hectares. Many families here make a living from their surroundings, by clearing the bay area of plastic and other waste.

Photo by Parc Cruz Manila, Philippines.

On the earth - beneath

on the earth - beneath, originally uploaded by Maningi.

Captured this face on the funeral of one of my best friends. It started to rain and the boy pulled his raincoat over his head.

Photo by Alexander Pecnik, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

M A D R A S A. Bidar

M A D R A S A. Bidar, originally uploaded by Claude Renault.

This image was shot inside the Madrasa in Bidar..
Young girls a bit worried by my presence..

Photo by Claude Renault, Reykjavik - ICELAND.

Dominican Child

Dominican Child, originally uploaded by EssPea | Photography.

Taken on my recent trip to the Dominican Republic

Photo by Shane Porter

Mask

mask, originally uploaded by marcinbab.

Stung Meanchey is an industrial neighborhood on the southwestern outskirts of Phnom PenhEvery day at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump several hundred people scavenge through Phnom Penh's daily refuse. Most are looking for recyclable materials which they turn in at small local recycling businesses earning themselves an average daily income of about 2000 Cambodian riels (US 50 cents). Most of the people working at Stung Meanchey are teenagers, though I have met children as young as 7 and adults well into their 40s

Photo by Marcinbab

Gisimba Memorial Center

Gisimba Memorial Center, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

He emulates one of so many soldiers he's seen.

Gisimba Memorial Center.
Kigali, Rwanda. Afrika.
June, 2005.

The text below is from Orphans Of Rwanda

"Centre Memorial de Gisimba (Gisimba Memorial Center)

The Gisimba orphanage, located in the Nyamirambo quarter of Kigali, is led by Damas Mutezintare Gisimba. Damas's father founded the orphanage in 1980 with 18 children living in one house. Damas took over in 1986 after the death of his father. During the genocide Damas sheltered over 400 children and adults in the small orphanage compound from the predations of the interahamwe [the Hutu paramilitary squads that carried out much of the genocide]. Though the orphanage was repeatedly menaced, Damas and his colleagues held their ground and did not give in to the genocidaires. He has been honored for his heroism by the Rwandan government and many other organizations.

The orphanage currently houses over 150 children. Ten years ago almost all were genocide victims, but many of the newer arrivals have been orphaned by AIDS. Because their parents were HIV+, a number of them are also infected."

PLEASE DONATE TO GISIMBA MEMORIAL CENTER VIA ORPHANS OF RWANDA

For statistics on Rwanda.

More statistics

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, USA.

Peru

, originally uploaded by jto_.

Photo by James, New York - USA.

Eyes

Eyes, originally uploaded by Carutapera | Pixel Alibi.

Photo by Luca Prasso, USA.

Kid

kid, originally uploaded by ko-knia.

Photo by Ko-knia, CANADA.

Brother and Sister

Brother and Sister, originally uploaded by wiseacredesign.

Photo by Paul Armstrong, Cincinnati - USA.