Daily Archives: May 9, 2014

DB Green Beach clean up this Sunday

Posted by Peter MUIR

DB Green will be hosting a beach clean up this Sunday – the second last beach cleanup before the summer holidays.   They will supply gloves, bags and water refills.  You need to take a reusable water bottle.   Please wear sturdy shoes and sun protection.

Meet Sunday 1pm on Nim Shue Wan beach!

DB Green are also looking for a few adult or older teenage volunteers for a special beach cleanup on Sam Pak Wan on Saturday May 10 at 9am for about 3 hours. We are doing a trial for a 2-year marine waste study, organised by WWF.  We will be documenting the trash within a defined area on the beach. Please send an email to dana@plasticfreeseas.org if you can help.

Global Action Week

Posted by Peter MUIR

This week is Global Action Week.  Organised by Global Campaign for Education, the week is this year focusing on raising the awareness of issues around disability with the campaign Equal Right, Equal Opportunity: Education and Disability.  In most low- and middle-income countries, children with disabilities are more likely to be out of school than any other group of children; even if they do attend school, children living with disabilities are often more likely to drop out and leave school early. In some countries, having a disability can more than double the chance of a child not being in school, compared to their non-disabled peers.

Here are some facts about children with disabilities and their education:

• In Malawi and Tanzania, a child with a disability is twice as likely to have never attended school as a child without a disability. In Burkina Faso, having a disability increases the risk of children being out of school by two and a half times.
• In Bolivia it is estimated that 95% of the population aged 6 to 11 years are in school, while only 38% of children with disabilities are – more than doubling the chances of not being in school.
• In Ethiopia, according to the Ministry of Education, fewer than 3% of children with disabilities have access to primary education, and access to schooling decreases rapidly as children move up the education ladder.
• In Nepal, 85% of all children out of school are disabled.

What could you do to get involved in addressing this issue?  Perhaps you could get invovled in volunteering at the Nesbitt centre here in Hong Kong.

Have Your Say: United Nations Global Survey

Posted by Peter MUIR

The United Nations wants to know what matters most to you. The UN and over 180 organizations from around the world are encouraging people everywhere to vote for the issues that would make the most difference to their lives and participate in shaping the future global development agenda. The results of the survey will be analyzed by the UN and its partners and presented to global leaders. The goal is for 500,000 people around the world to take the survey this week! You can take the My World Survey at www.myworld2015.org