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. 😉😄 Below is a video about two people giving bananas, shirts and money to homeless people in the city. It shows what someone like us can do to help them. I hope you enjoy the video and really get a lot from it. FSG is an organisation in Australia that helps anyone in need. Their goal is to deliver freedom, social justice and growth. They help disabled people, elderly people, people that struggle mentally, children, homeless people, etc. They try to help others in as many ways possible, and any money they make goes to making lives better for other people. Down below you will find a youtube clip about FSG, so i hope you get a chance to watch it. If you are interested into looking further into FSG and what they do here is their website: http://www.fsg.org.au I hope you enjoyed this post, video and website and learnt a lot from them. Please comment any thoughts or enquiries. This story shows that no matter who helps you, you should be grateful for them. The Samaritan was an enemy of the nearly dead man, but he still helped him and used his money, and what he had to do so. We can all be like that and shouldn't just by like the priest and Levite, who were passerbys. You'd expect that the priest and Levite would have helped the injured man, since they believe in God and do work in the church/community. But they didn't help the injured man, and the person the injured man least expected to help him did. It's like us, we expect adults to go and help people in need, and don't really realise that we could be helping that person instead.
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denariie and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Below you will find an article I found on the Herald Sun website, which was published in the Herald Sun on August the 3rd, 2014. It is about aboriginal rights and one man sharing his story. I hope you enjoy it and get the chance to read it.
IT WAS 1943, I was two years old and my mother — an Aborigine — was married to a white Australian when he went and gave his life for our country. All I know is that my father was a soldier and he went up to Papua New Guinea. He was killed on the Kokoda Track and instead of giving his wife a war widow’s pension, the bloody government came and took his children away. Because of my mother’s Aboriginality. There were four children at that point in time and I was the third. I think there were two boys and two girls. We were split up, the four of us, we were split. My name was then changed to fit the adopted family. I went into, I believe, a Catholic home, where I lived for a year. Then I was given out to another white family and went from there. When I went to primary school in 1946, after the war and when the migrants started to come out, for a few years I copped sh*t. I was different, I wasn’t white but I wasn’t black either. So what the hell was I? Maybe that’s when the walls went up, surrounding myself in all this crap. When I found out about the sob side of my birth, I was in my mid-30s, married with four children. In my mid-teens, I found out that I was adopted; my cousin and I were having a fight and he made a statement, something along the lines, “you’re not even a member of this family”, so I asked my [adoptive] mum and she denied it at that time. I had the opportunity to make a decision as to what I was going to do. Was I going to proceed to find the family? For personal reasons, I decided I had my own family. I didn’t bother. Maybe that was wrong, maybe I should have done something, but I didn’t. I struggled with this for many years. My mother was of that era where she was frightened to go into the Aboriginal side of my birth. Getting information from her was like dragging teeth out of a chook, she didn’t want to talk about it. I must admit I had the sh*ts with her for doing that. I don’t know whether that’s right or wrong, I’m 73 now and that’s a long time ago. I’ve had to live with that knowledge for 40 years. I’d never tried to hide my Aboriginality, but I never came out of the cultural closet, so to speak. That didn’t happen until 1991. Because of the lack of records, my major stumbling block is not knowing my family name. I still don’t know. I haven’t tried to locate my brothers or sisters, I don’t think they’ve tried to locate me. My siblings are out there somewhere. Where though, I don’t know. The number of children being taken these days is horrendous. I’ve read about this. I’ve seen it. I’ve tried to help families who’ve had their children taken, but you’re fighting a behemoth. To take the coppers on is bad enough, but to try and take on a government and its policies, no one out there will listen to you. I have the greatest admiration for the grandmothers from Gunnedah, who kicked this all off. I’ve met some of these grandmothers, I’ve been to their homes. They are not unfit people. They are not living in some drunk and drug-addicted slovenly hell hole. And yet the government says these people are not suitable. Yes we do have drunks, yes we do have druggies, some of them are mothers even, but in the wider family, not all of them are drunk or drug-affected. When you walk into an Aboriginal house, the first thing you see is a wall covered with photos. Photos of family of those who have gone, those have just come and those who are in between and growing. Walk into the kitchen, the fridge is covered with children’s drawings. That is a normal home. That is pride in your family and children, and that is not being recognised. These people need assistance, they need help; they don’t need their children taken from them. If you would like more information on this topic feel free to open up this website: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/stolen-generation-president-of-the-indigenous-social-justice-association-ray-jackson-shares-his-grief/story-fnixwvgh-1227011578479 This is a narrative I wrote, that is based on social justice. It is in a the person's perspective, so the main character is the one telling the story. I hope you enjoy and take a lot from it.
I see a little girl beside me in a worn out top and pants and wearing her brand new shoes that I brought her as a gift. She’s only about 3 or 4 but she’s the only one in her family that is well enough to travel to get water for her family. Its her first time doing it so her mother asked me to come with her, she has a giant smile pinned onto her face. My life mission has always been to help the needy, just this year I’ve travelled to the four poorest countries in the world; the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Zimbabwe and Burundi. I have had the most amazing experience, and at the moment I’m in Zimbabwe. The girls name I found out later is Rue, her family is suffering from malaria and cholera, so she has to do all the family chores. I have been helping out in her village in southern Zimbabwe doing as much as I can for them. There are 93 students at her school and the school can only pay for one teacher. I was talking to their teacher and she said that sometimes when they run out of stationary and paper they have to wait a couple of months to get some more. Rue’s new job is to get the water everyday and it is a 10mile walk there and back. I can’t believe what they have to live in aswell, I won’t call it a dump because it’s all they have but it is nothing like my house back in Australia. Some people don’t even have a house and if you do it’s nothing much, some of them are literally a room. The local school is a mile away and heaps of diseases are going around. When I first got there I tried living in their conditions; living on a dollar a day, to help me find out how I could help them. Since then I have brought in medications for cholera and malaria (two of Zimbabwe’s major diseases) which is difficult to treat, sent a message back home to raise money for new resources and daily needs, built a well in the centre of the village and helped families with their daily chores. The children love the attention and the smiles on their faces after they get something new or something they’ve always wanted, is unforgettable! The children and even parents love having their photos taken and the memory on my camera is filled up. As I walk onto the plane to head home I look through all the pictures with a giant smile on my face. I wish I could have done more to help them, they really don’t deserve to live like this. They were a good bunch of people and made my life more memorable. Hi everyone, I found a really good website that you might want to look at: http://www.facingthefuture.org/IssuesSolutions/SocialJustice/SocialJusticeTour/tabid/521/Default.aspx#.U_xcBVw3D-s . It has really good information and teaches you a lot about our inquiry topic. I learnt that social justice is based on trying to get rid of all poverty and unjust in the world, governments are the people that are keeping the poor people poor (they are not allowing them freedom) and within 1990 and 200 70% of the countries experienced a massive gap between the poor and the rich (the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer). I hope you can have a look on it, and comments your thought or anything you learnt below.
Caritas is an organisation that helps those less fortunate than us. In this video below you will see what they do and why/how they do it. Caritas supports the people in need and fights on their behalf, there are 162 member organisations and they help 200 countries and territories. They help by building schools, getting clean water and trying to help them live a better life. Caritas tries to give the sick the medicine they need and help them in everyday possible. The continents Cariatyas spend a lot of time inCaritas tries to be there for these people as much as they can. I hope you learnt a lot from this video and information and enjoyed it. "I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about it. Then I realised I am somebody." ~Lily Tomlin I think this quote means that everyone can make a difference and you shouldn't see a need without doing something about it (Mary MacKillop's quote). We see things on TV and think 'oh no that's terrible' but we don't actually think, is there something we can do to help? Even at a young age there is always something we can do, that can even be a little something like telling you're friends and family/ spreading the news around, even that can make a difference. We don't have to go out to a 3rd world country and help people there, we can help in our community and even just in the house. Everyone can make a difference in a world, we don't just have to wait for some else to do it. I think this passage relates to our inquiry topic because it shows that Jesus didn't care how many people there were and that he didn't have much, he still gave everything he could to the crowd. In this story Jesus could be one of us and we could be helping those in need. We don't need to be giving them food but just a little help is good.
Jesus Feeds the Five
Thousand 10When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 12Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 13He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. I think this passage relates to our inquiry topic (social justice/community services) because he is telling us how the sheep and goat helped him live by giving the person what they could. I think the passage is really good, and shows Jesus is always there for us. In this passage God and Jesus are the sheep and goats and we are thanking them for all they have given us. I think the end of the passage is telling us to go and do the same; helping others.
Helping others is a good thing and it is not about getting a rewards, this passage shows that just a thank you is enough. The passage is all about helping people and how much you can really do. |
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 |