What woke me up this morning

Out of habit I dont sleep much. I like to work late when its more quiet and I can get to focus, read and collect my thoughts on issues . Though the day  in itself  had not my best, yesterday was not an exception. I retired to bed a few minutes shy 2am.
Usually my alarm is the first thing that wakes me up. I have the alarms in a sequence the first is when I get to heat up my bath water. Then the second is when I actually get out of bed.

Today was a different case altogether. In the wee hours of the morning there was a loud knock on the door which woke me up. My first assumption was that it was on my door but I later realised that it was my landlords door. (Which is a few metres from mine) After what seemed a while of continous knocking ( I was wideawake then) there was a response The voice outside was a lady and she spoke with both emotion and urgency. Apparently her husband had become very ill during the night and she had rushed to come and ask assistance for transport to ferry  him to the nearest hospital. They drove away shortly afterwards.

After that I couldnt sleep. I had a few things that were in my head having gone through such a similar encounter when I was young.
It was a wide array of thoughts about my country, community and family.

If things had been well all it would have taken was a simple call for an ambulance to get her husband to the hospital
Because poor governance, lack of accountability, greed and corruption on the part of our political leadership our health system (and the whole economy as a whole)is in a deplorable state. Emergency services have become a privilege of the few that can afford medical aid. Most of the people who come from marginalised backgrounds their healthcare has been left to fate. This ought not to be.

I also  drew a lesson on community. We all have a role to play in our communities to support each other and help each other when one of us is in need. The true essence of community is being our brothers keepers. I have seen societies where people live behind tall walls and high gates and have absolutely no care about their neighbours or restrict their association to neighbours who are in their own class and turn a blind eye to those that are in need in society. This also ought not to be.

More importantly today the strength of  women in the family was reaffirmed. Women are usually at the recieving end during tough and trying times. They hold families together. Having been raised by a single mother myself I saw first hand the struggles of a woman. Its ironic that our societies still mistreat women. We know the challenges right from that of the girl child who is refused the opportunity to go to school, the orphaned girl child who is being sexually abused by a gurdian or the woman who is subject to heinous forms of spousal abuse. This is all too common and it ought not to be.

Making an introspection of todays events I think that we all have a collective role that we have to play from the macro (economy  and politics) to the micro (family) social institutions. We need to start developing a culture of unapologetically demanding accountability from our leaders right from the grassroots through how our children are educated, at work and towards political leadership. The ethos of community has to be revitalised and community leaders should aim to ensure that everyone is engaged in community problem solving initiatives. Most importantly there  is need to create and preserve strong families. WOMEN MUST BE RESPECTED this should be taught in schools, preached on pulpits and  made a mantra that children are raised  by.

If we are ready to make these changes  perhaps then can we make our societies a bit better for ourselves and the future generations to come.

Beauty of Life

As part of my new year resolutions I decided that I want to develop an aesthetic appreciation of art and nature and  as part of this process I will be writing on my thoughts on pictures  and paintings that I find online and find them interesting. This is my first picture.

From this picture I decided to call it the ‘beauty of life’. I like the blue colour on grey and greenish colours of the stones. And the perfect contrast with the orange of the butterfly. The smooth curves of the rocks add to the beauty of the scene. When I look at the picture the interpretation that i have  is that there is beauty in life. For me, in the picture the buttefly stands out not because of its different colour but rather because its alive. The rocks no matter how colourful they can never be alive like the buttefly. Life is delicate and must be treasured and apreciated and above all protected.

We live in a time of global environmental crisis. Many animal species are at the brink of extinction Our oceans are polluted and our trees are dwindling at alarming rates creating deserts. Global warming is taking its toll causing floods and threatening small islands. These are real problems that we face and most devastating fact is that we are the culprits of this destruction to our own peril.

The status quo needs to be challenged. Its time we take responsibility to protect all forms of life both plant and animal life. There is need for seriousness on Global Policy to cut on greenhouse emissions with real commitment from the Global Powers such as USA, Russia and China. At national level there is need to enact laws that preserve the fauna and flora, making stiff penalties to offenders.

Innovation also plays a critical role in protecting the environment, support by governments should be made available for emerging green innovations and research on environmentally friendly technologies.

Over the past 30 years, 30% of the world’s natural environment has been destroyed, populations of freshwater animal and plant species have been halved and natural forests have declined by 10%. Part of the problem can be traced to unsustainable rates of consumption in rich countries that are creating climate change and ozone depletion, as well as using up resources and producing toxic waste products -Source WHO

Another critical key in the protection of the environment is povert reduction. Research evidence suggests that in countries where there is more protracted and pronounced poverty, the environment is worst affected. This is because of lack of access to clean energy, the result is usually deforestation and poaching both for substinance as well as for income purposes. Poor countries are also more likely to compromise on environmental standards than risk loosing investors, and this has devastating consequences on the environment. One such example is the use of Frakking in oil extraction industries in Mexico which affects the environment. Whilst poverty reduction in itself is complex being related to the prevailing political and economic atmosphere it is key variable in the environmental sustainability equation. Education systems should inculcate within learners with a culture of protecting our environment through integration of environmental education.

Everyone has a role to play in preserving all life forms But perhaps the first step is for everyone it to first appreciate the beauty of life in itself.