Happy New Year 2015 - Time to be

Every New Year finds me coming up with a list of stuff to do... goals

E.g. - get married (I didn't), build this or that business (I did) , build apps for this that the other (I didn't) , get into a regular prayer routine (Partially failed miserably in the second half).

Which is pretty much okay - I mean it is what focused people do. They ready, take aim and fire... and more often than not I have pulled off a huge percentage of these things I set out to do and then evaluate at the end of year and here we go again.

I want this year to be different... or rather I want to be different in this year

I WANT TO BE - I DON'T WANT TO DO

Sunrise somewhere in Nairobi

 I love taking pictures - I don't own a camera... I use my phone.

Now I realize the depths in those moments... many of which I don't get to experience twice because things change - landscapes change, people move or die...

I WANT TO BE DIFFERENT IN 2015

I want to be different in 2015... to not be scared of not achieving, to not be scared of financial Insecurity or physical insecurity - it is a reptile's life being scared... I will not be afraid (What will I be?)

I will not be afraid - relax... I am alive

I want to be different in 2015... to not to rush seeking for the next target... struggling to achieve... struggling to make it so that I have that big car, afford that restaurant, get my wife this home... I will not lead a mammals life - seeking the things that give me pleasure and satisfaction... I will not be discontent (What will I be?)

Looking at life from a higher perspective - no more struggling

I want to be different in 2015... to not seek approval from others... getting affirmation... being liked... I will not be so pathetically human seeking attachment... I will not be selfish (what will I be?)

Sunset on Lake Victoria - seeing the smallness of my humanity

I WILL BE IN 2015

I will be a child of God - I will know I have nothing to fear in this life except fear itself... because fear will deny me the complete experience of life

I will be one with humanity - I will do and give things to contribute to humanity instead of taking things to me pleasure and contentment. We are one humanity.

I will Love - because love gives meaning to life. No more attachments... no more me... I...

I will Live in 2015

Empowerment of Person as Affirmative Action

The richest 1% of the world own half the world's wealth that is inequality.

But why would 99% of the world sit around and some in dire poverty and maintain a status quo. Why not demand affirmative action

Affirmative action is defined as

1. Affirmative action or positive discrimination (known as employment equity in Canada, reservation in India and Nepal, and positive action in the UK) is the policy of favoring members of a disadvantaged group who are perceived to suffer from discrimination within a culture.

PERCEPTION

As a first step to overcoming inequality it is important to understand who is the perceiving party. Does the person who appears to suffer from discrimination feel that they are disadvantaged or do they need us to tell them that they are badly off and life could be better for them.

CULTURE

Within a culture - cultures are different. Colonialists in Africa believed that they were more civilized than their colonies hence a justification for colonialism. In Wikipedia defined as 

"the distinct ways that people, who live differently, classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively"

MY POINT

• It is key to have a benchmark such as the 30 Articles on Human Rights (below) before judging that some sort of discrimination is happening and that the benchmark can be reviewed for inclusiveness 

• It is key to understanding another's perception and another's culture before deciding that they suffer discrimination. 

• It is key for the discriminated party to feel that they need to change their situation otherwise any intervention will be unsustainable or useless

• It is key for the discriminated party to feel they can get this equal treatment or equity by themselves rather than being dependent on other people to get this for them.

EMPOWERMENT

• The discriminated party is able to challenge stereotypes E.g. of a stereotype Men make better leaders than Women

• The discriminated party is able to identify labels as false or not a complete definition of the human person e.g. Sex worker or prostitute describes my job not my parenting skills, not my personality, not my values 

• The discriminated party is ready to take on cultural rebellion i.e. represent your experiences differently as you have been taught or as is conventionally represented 

• The discriminated party is ready to identify themselves as human with infinite possibilities e.g. even if you live in a third world country living under a dollar a day you believe that you can access learning and opportunity and you have a role to change your life

END OF STORY

If 99% of us feel that this story is not right and that the world's wealth is unequally distributed then we can change it. 

If 99% of us spend our lives trying to be like the one percent who own the world and do not really feel that this a bad balance then the status quo will remain

If we want to help anyone through Non Governmental organizations and Social entrepreneurship then the greatest help we can give is seeing them want to help themselves and change their story