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Dickinson to Durban » Mosaic Action

The privilege to act for climate.

The privilege to act for climate.

By Emily Bowie ’14 The last Wednesday we were in South Africa the thirteen of us were asked by Makaphutu to perform holiday deliveries to local communities of excess food and clothing that the orphanage had to spare. As we stood behind the vans holding boxes of shoes and handing individuals bread and samp each one of us experienced different, yet similar, moments of shock, reality, empathy and humility. We realized how much we have compared … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Mosaic Action

In my mind, in my heart.

Claire Tighe ’13 The opportunity to visit a children’s trust in Africa is a great privilege. During my visit with the Makaphutu and Lily childrens’ trusts in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa, I experienced first hand the true need that these people have. For someone who has read endless articles, seen documentaries, written papers, and discussed in various classes how HIV/AIDS and poverty have ravaged South Africa, I had only experienced this need with my head. As a westerner, I may never understand this life, but during my time in this region I began to formulate and understanding for it with my heart, not just my head. I felt the hands of women who wanted to work, of children who wanted to eat. I heard the laughter of people with … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Mosaic Action

COP17 Outcomes: A Feminist Perspective

Claire Tighe ’13 During our travels in the week following the COP17 conference in Durban, many of the people we met asked us about the outcomes of the meeting. I was particularly discouraged by the time that I reached the Dulles airport in Washington, D.C. when a American youth who had just spent her semester in the southern African region asked what the outcome was and if it was suitable to us. With my tongue in my cheek I muttered, “Depends on who you ask.” If you ask Todd Stern, one of the leading negotiators for the United States delegation, you will find that ” ‘the Durban outcome was a very significant and to some extent surprising outcome,’” and that “ ‘more was accomplished than people anticipated and certainly more than … Read entire article »

Filed under: Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, Featured, Key COP17 Issues, Mosaic Action, Student Research

Reflection on our time in the Valley of 1000 Hills

Reflection on our time in the Valley of 1000 Hills

By: Anna McGinn ’14 Many people we interacted with while in the Valley of 1000 Hills could never imaging the comfortable lifestyle we all returned to after our time in the Valley was complete.  Despite the fact that the children we played with at the orphanage and the people we distributed food to have very little, they were proud and happy with what they had.  It was extremely humbling to see the sustained smiles on their … Read entire article »

Filed under: Mosaic Action