I just thought I should post this, because it really relates to social justice. Please comment your understanding of this quote.
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Below is an article about homeless people, what we think of them and how they are treated. I found it really interesting and fascinating, I hope you enjoy it and learn heaps.
Not only is homelessness the most basic, enduring cause of exclusion, deprivation and discrimination, in our prosperous nation this social injustice is an emphatic political disgrace. Firstly 3 key points: (a) Having an affordable, safe, secure place to call home is an intrinsic part of our lives and a key foundation on which to nurture the well being of our families. (b) The notion of ‘home’ is about belonging somewhere, being a part of something with other people in a local community. In contrast, homelessness is about disconnection, alienation and inferiority. (c) Homelessness isn’t only about a few scruffy men in grimy trench-coats curled-up on park- benches hugging their bottles of grog. It’s about ordinary individuals like you and me, and families like yours and mine, under extraordinary pressure in dreadful circumstances. When people learn that across Australia on any given night, over 105,000 persons (plus over 1000 more each year) are denied a place to call ‘home’, they’re usually torn between astonishment and disbelief! On one side there’s a conviction that safe, secure, affordable housing – adequate for a person or family’s health and well-being – is a right not a privilege. On the other side, there is a belief, just as strong, that people, homeless or not, must take responsibility for their own housing needs. Consequently many argue that, homeless people are the cause of their condition and deserving of ridicule and exclusion. This common misconception goes like this: The homeless are weak and lazy. How do we know they’re weak and lazy? Because they’re homeless! This is called – ‘blame the victim’ cycle! “You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.” ― C.G. Jung This quote is like the other quote "actions speak louder than words," you may say something, but you don't do it. You don't need to see I'm going to do this, just go and do it. People tell others so they get attention, they're not humble in what they do. When you go and do something the best feeling you get is the feeling of knowing you did something good. If you just tell others and not do it, you get the feeling of guilt and if you tell others, they might ruin that good feeling by saying something bad. It is better to be humble in what we do, not just yelling it out to the world. Thishappens in social justice, people say they are going to go out and help the people in poverty in some way or another, but they never end up doing it. If we do go out and do it, the best gift is the happiness on someone's face and the good feeling you get inside. In class we had to write a 50 word story, based on social justice. The 50 words had to include the title, here is mine.
From Rich to Poor I wish I could go back and change everything, I've just made things worse. I should have given to the poor instead of wasting it on rubbish. I've lost my job, house, even family. Now the poor are poorer and many are dying. I'm like them now. About the Story This story is about a man who had a high position and had the chance to make the poor rich. But instead, wasted all his money on games, food and himself. He only made the people in poverty worst.. He lost his job, his house, most of his belongings and his family no longer wanted anything to do with him, so he became one of those people he could have helped. Well this inquiry topic has nearly ended and I have had heaps of fun and learnt heaps of new things. I have learned what some people are going through and how fortunate i should be. I thought that I should just put up a post of ways that you can help the people less fortunate.
Things you can do to help:
All these ways can help those less fortunate then us in some way or other, so maybe think about doing one of these things today. I was actually really surprised with the morning tea mass, the conversations I had with the parishioners and it was really easy to talk to them. I really enjoyed the morning and it was really funny, some of the stories they had to share. I felt really happy and confident while I was talking to them, some people were just talking to their friends, how my friends and I tried to keep the conversation flowing and not make it awkward. The people we talked to were really nice and I wouldn't mind doing it again.
Today I am going to be serving food at a morning tea, after a parish mass, for the parishioners. We are expected to start conversations with them on our own and approach them.
I am a bit nervous of talking to them, but I have already gonna to the aged care facility, so that gives me a bit of an idea of what to talk about. These people are going to be older than most people I talk to and our teacher has said, that we might be the only people they talk to in that day. I'm looking forward to talking to them though, seeing if they have any exciting news or some stories the like to tell. So overall I am more excited then.nervous. Below you will find a video about one amazing homeless man, who gives all his money he makes to his kids and family so they can afford an education and food. This is an amazing story and I hope you enjoy it. Above you will see pictures of people in poverty. These pictures show just what some people are gong through. I'm not trying to make anyone sorry, but don't take things for granted and don't think you don't get anything, because there are people out there far worse off than you. These people are happy with everything they get even if it is something little. The message I got from these pictures was to live my life to the fullest and don't take things for granted! I hope you do to.
Below is a quote that reads "It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act." This quote means that we shouldn't just donate, we should actually go out and give up our time to help others. Whether that be going to a nursing home, or supplying food for a meeting, or just giving up your time to go and talk to someone that looks sick, lonely or poor. It may not seem like much, but it can actually make a really big difference and put a smile on someone's face.
This passage shows that even the poorest people can make a difference. The widow gave everything she had, while the rich gave only maybe a 100th of their money. So the widow gave more than the rich, even though it seems the other way around. Instead of donating the rich could of actually given up their time to go and help the poor, or do their own fundraiser and then give to the poor. In real life the rich could be us, we give money but we only give maybe $5, which isn't much considering what we have. None of us think to go and give up our time.
I like this inquiry unit on social justice and the activities we are doing. We could just be raising money and sending it to a charity, but instead we are actually going out to help others. 41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Yesterday, myself, my teacher and six other students from my school, as part of our inquiry, went to Riddell Gardens aged care facility to talk to the elderly. We decided to walk there as it was only down the road.
When we got there, we walked through a door that looked normal on the outside, but on the inside the staff had painted the door so it looked like a library, to keep the people in the building in. We went on the second floor, which is what they called the high care floor. When we got in there the lady showed us to the room where we were going to be staying for the hour. Our teacher said that our goal was to try and keep the topic flowing, even if that was by playing a game. The first person I talked to was a lady, she wasn't very active, but she insisted on playing a game of memory with a deck of cards. We decided to just pick random cards, as I thought it would be easier for her. The game ended quickly because she started to get tired and even though there wasn't really a winner I told her that she won. I then went and talked to another lady, she had a really fascinating history. She was one of eight children, plus her two parents. But I think one died although she didn't actually tell me, she said that one of her brothers were in the 2nd world war but his plane crashed, she didn't tell me if she dies or not but at the end she said she only has 2 brothers now. She said that from a young age she had to learn to knit and sew because her mum had to do all the washing and look after the young ones, and since she was the eldest she was given the job of looking after the household. The last two I talked to were also quite funny, one of them thought she had ruled everyone and knew everything when she was at school. She used to tell the teacher she didn't need to do her homework because she was smarter then everyone. The other one loved to give compliments, so it was rude not to give her one back, she was really nice and friendly. I thought this experience was amazing and really showed me what people are like. One of them said that the aged care facility was a hell hole, and others said they couldn't complain, and that it was alright. It was lovely talking to them and listening to what they had to say, and at the end of it made me wonder what their everyday life is like? When we walked in no one was talking to anyone. Is that what it is like everyday? They must have liked us there because they kept on offering us morning tea, one of them kept on offering me, and one of my friends, tea even though we kept saying no. They were really nice and funny, I would be happy to do this again. 😉😄 |
AuthorHi, my name's Jessica and this is my blog page for my school's inquiry unit. Our inquiry unit is based on social justice. ArchivesCategories |