Spring 2011 IN THIS ISSUE

Letter from the Board President 2

Vol. 42 No. 1 ISSN: 0737-037X

Youth Envoys
Kate Smith on her new role as the UU-UNO Youth Envoy Coordinator Pgs. 6-7

Unanimous Vote Creates Inclusive UN Womens Agency 3 Letter from the Executive Director UN Sunday Youth Envoys Program Envoy Spotlights ECOC Every Child Every Where Where Your River Used To Run My Bangladesh Experience Dana Greeley Award 4 7 8 10 12 14 15 16 19

Social Work, the UN and the UU-UNO 18 UU-UNO Programs at General Assembly 2011 20

CONTACT US!
UU United Nations Office 777 UN Plaza Suite 7G New York NY 10017 212.986.5165 office@uu-uno.org www.uu-uno.org

Every Child is Our Child Scott and Hollys trip to the ECOC program in Ghana Pgs. 10-11

Barriers to universal primary education, and Lauren Pluchinos efforts to beat them Pg 12

Dear Members and Friends, Thank you for your support and encouragement as we build our voice for advocacy at the United Nations and educate our congregations about the UN. You are the bedrock of our organization. Today we are at a historic juncture for the UU-UNO. After more than four decades on our own, we are set to rejoin our parent association. What does this change mean for you? Very little! We will continue to count on your financial and moral support. We still will need you to educate your colleagues in your congregations about the UN and hold UN Sundays. We hope you will continue to send your young people to the Intergenerational Spring Seminar and support teaching about the UN in your Religious Education programs. What does it mean for the organization? It means we are able to sustain our focus on education and advocacy. It assures closer relationships with the UUA and with the Canadian Unitarian Council. And it means critical support from the UUAs fundraising and administrative arms. The UU-UNO will be a department within the UUA and no longer a separate entity, but our programs will continue, our office and staff will stay in New York, and we will have active envoys in a growing number of congregations. Many circumstances have led to this mostly joyful occasion. One that stands out is Bruce Knottss performance as Executive Director. In large part because of his achievements during the past three and a half years, we have become an organization at once more widely respected and more highly valued. Both in the UN NGO community and within the UUA he has put our organization on the map. UU-UNO is an admired leader in human rights, especially LGBT rights. Bruce chairs the NGO Human Rights Committee, heads the Faith & Ethics Network for the International Criminal Court, and is the convener of the Ecumenical Working Group. He has facilitated New York exposure for visiting Africans from Uganda and Ghana, and he is vice chair in New York City of the UN Association / USA. Bruce has spoken to scores of congregations, maybe including yours, from coast to coast throughout North America and he invariably makes a highly valuable impression. His appearances have spurred hundreds of memberships and generated contributions in the many thousands of dollars. Board members also have made significant contributions to the growth in reputation and execution of UU-UNO programs and advocacy. We held our very successful Spring Seminar this year on the theme, Empower Women for a Better World. The Boards Program Committee had a major hand in planning the seminar as well as for the Greeley Award and UN Sunday. Outreach and Membership Committee members and the Fundraising Committee have increased our visibility in congregations. Our financial picture has become clearer, more grants have been written successfully, and we have a highly visible Climate Change Initiative. And we have an important milestone coming up: planning is underway for our 50th Anniversary celebrations in 2012. Of course, rejoining the UUA also means that our Boards governance role and my presidency come to an end. I regret the dissolution of our Board of dedicated Directors, but I look forward with enthusiasm to the next chapter. I hope you do, too. Yours, Catherine Onyemelukwe, CFRE President

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Unanimous Vote Creates Inclusive UN Womens Agency

Constance M. Baker, RN, EdD, MA Board of Directors, Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office

On July 2, 2010 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution creating the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. www.unwomen.org The new agency will be led by an Under-Secretary-General (USG), who will work with a 41 member country Executive Committee. Together, they will oversee all UN programs aimed at promoting womens rights and full participation in global affairs within the limits of an annual budget of about US $500 million. This new entity, known as UN Women, combines the four former UN gender agencies: Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), International Research and Training Institute (INSTRAW), and the Office of Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI). UN Women will continue to implement programs and tools developed by these four agencies and other UN groups. For example, 1) Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted by the General Assembly in 1979. Today, every major country in the world has adopted CEDAW except the United States, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and a couple others. 2) Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) and the continuing 5 year reviews in 2000, 2005, and 2010; 3) UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 which address womens role in conflict prevention, specifically in 1325 sexual gender-based violence and 1820 sexual violence in conflict situations; and 4) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which all 191 Member States have pledged to meet by 2015 and UN Women can advocate for gender equality in each of the 8 goals. On September 14, 2010 Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon named former Chilean President, Dr. Michelle Bachelet, UnderSecretary-General of the new UN womens entity. On November 10, 2010 elections were held to specify the 41 countries serving on the UN Womens Executive Committee: 10 from Africa, 10 from Asia, 4 from Eastern Europe, 6 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 5 from Western Europe, and 6 from contributing countries. The new UN Women began functioning January 1, 2011. While UN Women will carry forward the agendas of DAW, UNIFEM, INSTRAW, and OSAGI, this new entity must foster systematic ways to engage a diverse NGO constituency. Further, stable and sustainable financial resources are required to effectively empower women so funding goals must be established immediately with the 6 representative donor countries: Great Britain, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the United States. Recently Under Secretary General Michelle Bachelet outlined the five focus areas of UN Women: 1) Expanding womens voice, leadership and participation; 2) Ending violence against women; 3) Strengthening womens full participation in conflict resolution and peace processes; 4) Enhancing womens economic empowerment; and 5) Ensuring gender priorities are reflected in national plans and budgets, including capacity to support CEDAW reporting. Efforts to have a visible impact within the UN Womens first 100 days include creating a process to invite participation of national and grassroots womens groups, engaging interest groups in creating an agenda, and producing some tangible result. Members of the International Convocation of UU Women can help influence the evolution of UN Women by identifying perplexing issues held in common with UN Women, specifying activities that could accomplish goals of both organizations, communicating with members of UN Womens Executive Committee, and engaging with other UU organizations to enhance UU presence throughout the world.
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Executive Directors Report to WOW Following our UU-UNO goals of engaging Unitarian Universalists in the work of the United Nations and bringing our UU values and voice to the UN, the past year has been an amazing one of both accomplishment and new and exciting opportunities ahead. Let me start with our Every Child is Our Child Program, which we developed to help implement the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For the past several years, the UU-UNO has partnered with the Queen Mothers Association of the Manya Krobo People of Eastern Ghana, headed by its Project Director, Esther Kpabitey. A traditional organization typical of West African societies that include royal women (the Queen Mothers) and royal men (the Chiefs), the Queen Mothers are the people that members of the Manya Krobo society go to when there are social problems, especially those that touch women and children. So, when the Manya Krobo people suffered the highest death rate in Ghana from HIV/AIDS leaving behind 3,000 AIDS orphans, the Queen Mothers organized themselves to support surviving family members or to find foster parents to care for the many orphan children. They also partnered with the Ghana AIDS Commission, which was able to support the education of about half the children. In 2004, when the UU-UNO asked how we could help, the Queen Mothers requested that we also support the education of as many orphan children as possible and pay for the administrative fees for the national health insurance for the children and their caregivers. In 2005, we started with 50 children, and now, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we support 120. For many years, the UU-UNO has wanted to bring Esther Kpabitey to the United States to talk about this wonderful story of women banding together to solve a horrific problem. This year, thanks to the efforts of Lisa Bredbenner, Co-Chair of our 2011 Seminar Committee, and others who organized and donated time and funds, we were able to bring Esther to the United States to speak at the Seminar, Empower Women for a Better World. I can think of no finer examples of empowered women than Esther, an articulate and talented community organizer, and the other Queen Mothers, who have faced tragedy with determination and creativity to ensure a chance at a better life for the children of their community. Once our congregations learned that Esther was coming to New York, they booked her to speak. UU-UNO Advisor Mary Overton funded her trip to Dallas, TX. First Unitarian Church in Dallas and the Overtons have been early and continuing contributors to the Every Child Program. The UU congregation of Westport, CT has hosted several fundraisers and donated a laptop computer for the children to use and learn. John and Fran Kennedy at the UU congregation of the Lehigh Valley, PA, visited the project and donated three laptop computers. The Unitarian Universalist congregations of Victoria, BC and San Francisco, CA have also been consistent supporters of ECOC. For the 6th consecutive year, the 5th Grade RE students at All Souls Church in New York have donated the proceeds of their annual bake sale to the children in Ghana. Holly Sarkissian, UU-UNO Envoy Coordinator, and Scott Seale, UU-UNO Board Member and 50th Anniversary Co-chair, visited the project in November 2010. It is my hope that with greater financial assistance, we can support the education of more children through their primary years and into high school. I also hope more people visit the project and that we can sponsor regular visits by the Queen Mothers to North America. The UU-UNO continues to make history on the global LGBT front by bringing our UU voice and values to the fore. The UU-UNO and the UUA have jointly sponsored a fund to support the work of Rev. Mark Kiyimba, our UU minister in Kampala, Uganda. Some of these funds will go to fund safe-houses to protect LGBT human rights defenders. David Kato Kasuli, who has been called the
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founder of the LGBT human rights movement in Uganda, was murdered in his home on January 26, beaten to death with a hammer, the execution method of choice of former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. American fundamentalist ministers and politicians, such as Rev. Scott Lively, Rev. Lou Engle and Senator James Inhofe, share culpability for Davids death and many more besides. Recently, Nigerian newspapers have been calling for Jungle Justice to kill all the gays in their country. While some of this hatred is generated within countries like Iran, Uganda and Nigeria, it is stoked and exacerbated by both Christian and Islamic fundamentalist preaching. In December 2010, a resolution on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions came to the floor of the UN General Assembly. Previously, in committee, a majority succeeded in removing sexual orientation from the list of populations vulnerable to being killed outside the law and deserving of particular protection. This left the impression that it was all right to kill gays. In response, the UU-UNO organized its second LGBT consultation at the UN, which brought together about 100 faith-based and secular leaders to promote LGBT human rights. We decided to support a U.S. led initiative to restore sexual orientation to this important UN resolution. Press reports gave credit to our grass-roots effort, which succeeded in changing the votes of 23 countries and returning sexual orientation to the resolution. During the past year, UU-UNO activism helped persuade the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to appoint a staff person in New York City to promote LGBT human rights, the first time this position has ever existed. On December 9, 2010, the New York City Office of the HCRC organized a meeting with human rights defenders, including an important contact of the UU-UNO, Frank Mugisha, Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attended this event, sitting in the front row. Assistant Secretary-General Ivan Simonovic invited the human rights defenders to explain to S-G Ban what they wanted him to do. Frank requested that Ban Ki-moon stop the criminalization of sexual orientation. The next day (Human Rights Day), the Secretary-General called on the world to end the criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity. When the UU-UNO started its LGBT advocacy at the UN in 2008, there was almost no discussion about LGBT rights at the UN. Now the topic is front and center. Following our denominations 7th Principle, respect for the interdependent web of all existence, the UU-UNO continues to break ground on climate change through its membership on the UN NGO Committee for Sustainable Development. Headed by UU-UNO Board Member, Jan Dash, Ph.D., the UU-UNO Climate Task Force is making significant headway in informing and persuading the international community about the need to take global warming/ climate change seriously and to take the urgent steps necessary to preserve our planet. Be sure to visit our UUUNO Climate Portal at www.climate.uu-uno.org, also developed by Jan. In April 2010, the UU-UNO hosted a stellar Intergenerational Seminar, A Climate of Change: Heads, Hearts, and Hands Around the Planet, which was followed in many
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congregations by October UN Sundays on Climate Change. The 2011 Greeley Award Sermon competition topic was also climate change. Chosen from over 20 submissions, the winning sermon was first delivered jointly by Rev. Craig Schwalenberg and Sarah Summers, a former UU-UNO intern, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, NY. The sermon is a dialogue about climate change and the work of the UU-UNO. You can hear this unique sermon at General Assembly in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon, June 25. On July 2 last year, the United Nations established the much-welcomed UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, or UN Women for short, led by Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile. [Go to www.unwomen.org for more details of this exciting development.] While the UU-UNO has always been dedicated to the empowerment of women, recently our advocacy in this area has intensified. This years Seminar, Empower Women for a Better World, has launched our efforts over the next twelve months to establish a vigorous and sustained effort to empower women. While some people consider that women have accomplished their goals, and we certainly see women playing a larger role in U.S. and international politics, for vast numbers of women, the situation in 2011 holds more death, exploitation and human trafficking than ever before. Strongly suggested reading for the Seminar is Half the Sky, Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, which I hope everyone puts on their reading list for this year. The book chronicles the lives of women in Africa and Asia who struggle against sex slavery, the deplorable state of maternal health, and a global system that either ignores women or actively conspires to deny them a safe and dignified life. The book moves on to stories of hope showing how women have overcome these obstacles, gained phenomenal personal success and reached out to help other women. This core UU-UNO advocacy goal of empowering women and girls for a better world will be the theme of our UN Sunday services this fall and for the Greeley Sermon Award next year. Lastly, this year has brought the UU-UNO the opportunity to rejoin the UUA from whence we came. What later became the UU-UNO was first formed as an advisory office of the UUA in 1962 and then an official part of the UUA Office of Social Responsibility in 1964. In 1969-70, for financial reasons, the UUA could no longer support its office at the United Nations, so UUs who cared about the work of the New York Office raised over $18,000 and incorporated as the UU-UNO, an independent non-profit organization, which remained in Associate Member Status with the UUA, one of only three such organizations, including the UUSC and the UUWF. The UU-UNO Board has voted unanimously to return to the UUA. The Canadian Unitarian Council has nearly completed its successful negotiations with the UUA to ensure and enhance Canadian participation with us. The UUA is finalizing its negotiations with us, and the UU-UNO membership will vote on this proposal on April 30, 2011. We hope that this combination of the UUA and the UU-UNO will happen on July 1, 2011, and later serve as a model for other Unitarian and Universalist groups worldwide. We believe the combination will greatly enhance our ability to advocate, educate and inspire change at the UN and promote support of the United Nations within our denomination. In Peace,

Bruce Knotts Executive Director

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Set the date for UN Sunday 2011! Since its founding, October 24 has been called United Nations Day. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending that the day be observed as a public holiday by Member States. In celebration of this annual event, the UU-UNO invites congregations and individual UUs to deepen their understanding of the United Nations by devoting one service in October to reaffirming the connections between UU principles and vital issues dealt with at the UN. Usually, congregations organize a UN Sunday for the last Sunday in October, but any Sunday in October could work. What You Can Do Work with congregation leaders to set the date for a UN Sunday Service in your congregation. The 2011 theme is Womens Rights. We encourage Ministers, Lay Leaders as well as Youth and Adult Envoys to take advantage of our prepared materials and/or develop your own ideas for a UN Sunday service. Often, a UU-UNO Envoy or even a special UN speaker presents the sermon. We especially encourage children and youth to participate in UN Sunday. Our UN Religious Education curriculum (UN Me) is available on request by emailing envoycoordinator@uu-uno.org. We urge congregations to organize related religious education sessions. The UU-UNO also offers the UN Sunday packet as a resource for congregations to plan a meaningful UN Sunday. Look for the 2011 UN Sunday packet coming soon! For further ideas, consider the programs of the UN Sundays described in our Envoy Spotlights on pgs. 8 and 9 of this issue of Windows on the World. Additionally, we ask congregations to consider dedicating their UN Sunday offering to support the work of the UUUNO, and to inform their members of the benefits of UU-UNO membership. The UU-UNO exists to provide a unique UU perspective at the United Nations. We depend on individual and congregational support. We hope to receive your support, your involvement, your engagement and your enthusiastic membership to change the world so that every person can enjoy a safe and dignified life. The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office thanks participating congregations for their time and commitment to the values shared by both the UUA and the UN. As the activist Dorothea Dix said, Where there is so much to be done, there must be something for me to do. May each UN Sunday be inspiring to all.

Spring 2011 Winter 2010

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UU-UNOs Youth Envoy Pilot Project

By: Kate Smith

In February, we launched a new 12-month Youth Envoy Pilot Project, made possible by a generous grant from the Unitarian Universalist Funding Programs Fund for Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility. As part of the initiative, I was hired by the UU-UNO team to be the new Youth Envoy Coordinator and tasked with launching our Youth Envoy Pilot Project in six Metro New York District congregations. I come from a family with diverse international experience, as well as close ties to the United Nations. Ive lived in Beijing and studied Mandarin, participated in Model UN conferences including several at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and one of my older sisters served as a UN peacekeeper in Monrovia, Liberia. Through these experiences, I have gained a deep appreciation for the importance of the Sixth Principle of Unitarian Universalism, the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. I believe strongly in the need for North American UU Youth to develop a firm understanding of the connection between this principle and the role the United Nations plays in international peace and diplomacy. Coincidentally, I will be helping to launch the Youth Envoy Pilot Project at the same time as the UNs International Year of Youth, Our Year Our Voice. Beginning in August of 2010 and lasting until August 2011, the International Year of Youth calls for greater understanding of the situation of Youth around the world, as well as for greater Youth participation in all levels of local, national, and international decision-making. In addition to this umbrella initiative, the United Nations also has five programs that address Youth needs: the United Nations Program on Youth, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Environment Program, the Youth and United Nations Global Alliance, and the United Nations International Childrens Fund. As Youth Envoy Coordinator, I will focus on implementing our Youth Envoy Pilot Project in six Metro New York congregations. Working closely with Religious Educators, Youth Ministers, Youth Group Advisors and Adult Envoys, I will help recruit Youth Envoys to become liaisons to the UU-UNO. First and foremost, these
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Youth Envoys will bring important information about the work of the UU-UNO and the United Nations to their Youth Groups. I will also connect the Youth Envoys to the many opportunities offered through the International Year of Youth and the five United Nations programs. Youth Envoys will also be able to draw from the extensive Youth programming our Office provides, including religious education and UN Sunday service materials, social justice activities, our Annual Intergenerational Spring Seminar, and the Internship Program. To facilitate the training of our new Youth Envoys, I want to augment the Youth Section of our website and more broadly utilize social media. I plan to develop a Youth Envoy blog which Envoys can both contribute to and use as a forum to connect with each other and the Office. By posting short profiles of new Youth Envoys on the website, I also hope to foster pride in the Youth Envoy position. At the same time, it is equally important to emphasize the need for intergenerational collaboration. To that end, we are developing a brief guide to promote healthy relationships between Adult Envoys, Youth Envoys, and congregational leaders. My ultimate goal is to engender a dynamic community of Youth who are inspired by and supportive of each other and the UU-UNOs mission. It is a special pleasure and privilege to be part of the team here at the UU-UNO and to meet the many dedicated UUs who make our faith such a vibrant force on behalf of domestic and global social justice. The UUUNOs added focus on Youth complements not only the UUAs commitment to support UU Youth, but also the United Nations call to involve Youth in all stages of government and community decision-making. For Youth, this new program provides exciting opportunities to become involved in community-building, social action, learning and leadership development. I look forward to bringing this pilot project to fruition in the Metro New York District, and in setting the groundwork for many years to come.

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UU-UNO Envoy Spotlight: Marietta Tanner

As a teenager, UU-UNO Envoy Marietta Tanner first heard about the newly formed United Nations from a guest speaker at her high school. She remembers that her teacher was particularly interested in exposing his students to the UN. After graduation, Marietta moved to Flushing Meadows, Queens in 1949 and started working at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peaceacross from the United Nations when it was located in Lake Success, New York. Over 60 years later, Marietta remains involved with promoting the work of the UN at the Unitarian Society of Germantown (USG) in Philadelphia, PA. For their recent UN Sunday observance, she invited Pamela VCombe to deliver a sermon about climate change. Pamela currently serves on the UU-UNO Board and previously served as Executive Director. After a short luncheon following the service, representatives of the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia (UNAGP) facilitated two workshops. Anastasia Shown, Assistant Director of the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania, delivered Green Movements on the African Continent. Christiaan Morssink, President of the UNAGP delivered Evidence and Its Deniers, the United Nation's Role. Approximately 30 participants attended the workshops. Shown and Morssink utilized a powerpoint presentation and quizzes to assess their audiences previous knowledge about the topics. Since becoming an Envoy in 1998, Marietta has also networked regularly with the UNAGP, which has helped her association with education about the United Nations come full circle. Now she assists UNAGP representatives, primarily university students, as they facilitate lessons about the UN to students after school. In addition, two teachers attended the workshops led by Shown and Morssinsk, planning to bring what theyve learned back into their classrooms. Networking with teachers interested in the UN is clearly one of Mariettas primary priorities. She admits that it is difficult to connect with community members who are interested in the UN. It is an uphill struggle because not many people are talking about [the UN]. She has learned that UN friendly teachers in her congregation can connect her with their colleagues and university professors can connect her with college students. Marietta Tanner is pleased with the response to her congregations UN Sunday 2010. When asked what she would like to replicate next year, she responded, Bringing in the community, especially the college students, and doing the outreach to bring community groups with interest in the subject to see what the United Nations is doing. We know shes also pleased to be carrying on the goal of her high school teacher to expose students of all ages to the United Nations.

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UU-UNO Envoy Spotlight: Sara Pedram All Souls UU Church in Kansas City, MO held their annual UN Sunday on October 24, 2010, with Rev. Anton Jacobs, a guest minister, delivering the sermon Which Gate? According to UU-UNO Envoy Sara Pedram, the theme was based on the International Year of Rapprochement of Cultures [2010] highlighting diversity of cultures and promoting reciprocal knowledge of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. The UN General Assembly appointed UNESCO as the lead agency. Despite Jacobs filling in for All Souls recently departed interim minister, Sara thinks that the day was very well done; but perhaps not a typical UN Sunday service because of the last minute change in personnel. As a seasoned church volunteer serving on the Caring Connections Committee, singing with the choir, volunteering in the church office, and serving as a UU-UNO Envoy Sara was prepared to handle the last-minute change. Sara is also the Chair of the UU-UNO Committee at All Souls. First becoming an Envoy in 1999, Sara has helped organize and promote UN Sundays in her congregation for over ten years. Under her coordination, the committee collaborates with Global and Multicultural Education (GAME), a local nonprofit organization that Sara directs, focusing specifically on human rights of children and women. Her husband, Manny Pedram, is the founder of GAME and was the Envoy at All Souls UU Church before Sara. He also helped charter the United Nations Association Kansas City chapter in the 1970s. Over the past 3 decades, G.A.M.E. has collaborated and partnered with other educational organizations, including libraries, schools, and the local UNA-KC chapter, Sara says. This year, in addition to UN Sunday, church members were invited to participate on October 14-15 in the Sixth Biennial Kansas City Conference on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The theme of the conference was Activism for Human Rights: From Issues to Action. The conference was sponsored by GAME and the University of Missouri Kansas City Womens Center. Thanks to Saras persistence in connecting with individuals inside and outside of the congregation, All Souls is on their way to becoming a Blue Ribbon Congregation. Last year she invited Bruce Knotts, Executive Director of the UUUNO, to deliver the sermon for UN Sunday. She said he did a superb job. Next year she hopes to enlist the help of a potential Youth Envoy who has expressed interest in the UU-UNO. As she wrote via email, We are pursuing this exciting possibility and will keep you advised! For more information about the Activism for Human Rights: From Issues to Action conference, visit http:// activismhumanrights.wordpress.com. To learn more about GAME, visit www.kcglobalconcepts.org.

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ECOC Visit to Ghana

During November 2011, Envoy Coordinator Holly Sarkissian and Board Member Scott Seale traveled to Ghana to visit the Every Child is our Child Program. For this program, the UU-UNO works with traditional female community leaders called Queen Mothers in order to provide school supplies and health insurance to orphans and vulnerable children in Manya Krobo, the region of Ghana with the highest HIV/AIDS rate. Below is an account of their visit. Goats, chickens, potholes, some paved roads, classrooms under a tree, flying spiders, lizards in my bedroom and huge pigs on the beach! These are some of the images from our trip to Ghana. We began in Accra, the capital city, and met with former ECOC Board member Dr. Richard Amenah, Technical Director of the Ghana AIDS Commission. He explained that Ghana has the lowest HIV/AIDS rate, however, the Manye Krobo region, where our program is based, has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the country. Next we traveled to Odumase where our program is based in three schools. We met with Deputy Queen Mother Esther Nartekie Kapity and the Queen Mothers Association. The UU-UNO works very closely with the Queen Mothers to administer the ECOC program, and working with local partners is one of the program's greatest strengths. The Queen Mothers' personal knowledge of all our children and their caregiving families greatly benefits our children. In a perfect example, Queen Esther recently rescued a 16 year old girl from her caregiver because someone was about to marry her off and take her away from the village. In Odumase, poverty is widespread. Children go to school hungry and, in some cases, caregivers have to decide between spending money on the next meal or medicine because they cannot afford both. Our program helps relieve the financial burden on these families and keeps children in school so they will have the skills and knowledge for better opportunities in the future. Since the needs of the community go far beyond what our office can provide, while in Ghana we also met with potential partner organizations which could bring in resources that we cannot provide, such as microfiance loans and food assistance. During our last day in Odumase, we went to the home of Odzao Tetteh, an HIV positive child, and discovered he was very sick - shivering and convulsing. Instead of taking him to the hospital, his grandmother was cracking palm kernels and putting them on the fire to extract the oil, then applying this onto his body. She could not take him to hospital because she had no money. She could only hope that the long process of extracting oil would have a positive effect on his health. We took him to the hospital and he was admitted for three days. We paid for all his meals and transportation and arranged for

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his schoolteacher to visit him every day. This is what his grandmother wished she could give him, but she did not have the money. Odzao is living with his grandmother because his mother has died and his father does not have the money, nor wishes, to care for himhe nearly lost his life when he went to stay with his father. His father made him stop taking his life saving ARVs because he said "those drugs make you eat too much. Unfortunately, this lack of knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its treatment is not an isolated case.

We also had the chance to visit one of our best students named Grace Fosu. Unlike the other families, her family home was located far away from any other houses on an isolated patch of land. The home is one small room made of mud, brick, and tin, which she shares with her parents and 4 younger siblings. Grace is number one in her class. The only complaint that her teachers have is that she is sometimes late for school. When we asked Grace about her tardiness, she explained to us that she lives 50 minutes away from the school and that since she is the eldest girl child in the family, she has to wake up very early each day to fetch water and clean the house. We asked her if it would be possible for her to do some of the cleaning at night. We also suggested to her parents that her brothers might be able to help her with some of the chores too (what a novel idea)! Despite these obstacles, Grace goes to school each day and does better than any of her peers. Without the assistance of the UUUNO, it is unlikely that her parents would be able to send her to school. It is for students like Grace that the ECOC program existsto provide vital assistance that allows hardworking but disadvantaged children access to the opportunities they would otherwise be denied.

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Every Child, Everywhere: Tackling Barriers to the Universal Primary Education Movement
by Lauren Pluchino

When I left to spend a year in Tanzania working with street girls at an NGO and teaching at a local primary school during the summer of 2008, I was not quite sure what to expect. What I thought was going to be a gap year between undergraduate and graduate school, has turned into a lifelong passion that I will be continuing when I move back to Tanzania permanently this July. While working in Tanzania I saw the vast educational discrepancies between children of different classes. The desire of students to continue with their education was often hindered by barriers out of their control. Whether it was not being able to pay for a pencil or a school uniform, these hindrances have presented large challenges even under a system of free primary education in Tanzania. I remember one student coming up to me while I was teaching and asking how she would continue with school, given the strong pressure her family was putting on her to work. With all of these different constraints being an ever present reality for students I was teaching, a group of teachers and I developed an NGO called Tupo Pamoja Foundation. In Swahili Tupo Pamoja means We Are Together. The organization works to sponsor children to primary school and meet additional burdens that often prevent school participation. My involvement with Tupo Pamoja Foundation directly led to my interest in working with the Every Child is Our Child Program at the UU-UNO. Accessing quality education is a struggle facing students in many countries, and the skills used in working with children in Tanzania have proved very similar to the work I have been doing with the ECOC program. The partnerships we have made with organizations in Ghana and the relationships we have with staff working on the project are critical to ensuring the success of the ECOC students. While the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education can be aided by removing prohibitive school feels, it cannot be achieved without providing these additional support services. ECOC is working to achieve this goal so that no child is left out of the educational movement working for every child, everywhere.

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Where Your River Used to Run

I find you, Perched upon a tree. I know this is not where you belong So I scoop you up, And take you, To where your river used to run. I find the dried up river bed, Filled with little, round stones. It looks almost intentional. I watch your sad eyes as you recognize, Where your river used to run. I set you down, And watch, As you shed a single tear, The only drop of water, Near where your river used to run. And now we watch, As a young child with a pail of water, Kneels beside us, And pours her water, On where your river used to run. She runs for more, And returns, Carefully pouring. And we watch the girl try to change, Where your river used to run. And still we watch as we realize, That it is not up to us, For we are past our prime. But it is the next generation, Who must change, Where your river used to run.
Alley Wolff is a student from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington on Long Island.

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My Bangladesh Experience By Claudean Osbourne During the winter session of 2010 while I was doing my internship at the United Nations, I was offered the opportunity to learn about Micro-finance and social development in Bangladesh. The study abroad program was coordinated by the Social Work School of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. The group of us that went to Bangladesh were from various universities, such as SIUCarbondale, Case Western, George Washington, Indiana, and I coming from Fordham University. For me, this program was a life-changing experience. Bangladesh is known as one of the worlds poorest and most densely populated countries, yet many of its people seem to possess immeasurable strength and resilience. Early in the morning, men would carry their products out into the market to sell, using their rickshaw as a taxi. Some would take their children to the health clinic, some children were out selling wares on the streets, and some women used micro-loans to start their own business. I was privileged to hear the testimonies of the women who borrowed the loans. One woman stated I was poor and had nothing, but now I have my own business and all my children are going school. Another said, I have cows, so that I can sell milk and make money to buy a house. Another lady said that she took the loan so that her husband could purchase space for his own auto-body shop. They were all understandably proud of the things they had accomplished that would have been impossible without that infusion of capital. I even got the chance to buy some of their beautiful outfits, jewels, and shawls for myself as well as for friends and family. While in Bangladesh, I met Dr. Muhammad Yunus, one of the first micro-credit pioneers in Bangladesh and the founder of Grameen Bank. I had the chance to ask him a question related to my interests, social work: whether, if someone had the desire to provide services to people with depression, that individual would be able to take out a micro-loan to start a business. Dr.
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Yunus said that Our focus is on mother and child right now..lots of maternal deathsto bring down maternal deaths, one way is to screen pregnant mothers to see the risky pregnancies. He said that they had worked with General Electric in designing a very small ultrasound machine that can be used to screen pregnant mothers that may be at risk. Additionally, since doctors do not frequently go into the villages, Grameen is training young women in using the ultrasound machine to do the screening in the villages; they then send the images to the experts. The technology even allows doctors to talk to the patients on the phone. Once the risky pregnancies are detected, she moves on to the next level, according to Dr. Yunus. The women that are being trained to use the ultrasound are not only incredibly helpful to pregnant women in these remote communities. Consistent with Grameens mission, they will also become independent entrepreneurs. It is an entrepreneurship opportunity for them as well as a social business for Grameen Bank. Currently, Grameen is in the process of developing a chip in collaboration with a Japanese business and education consortium. The chip will contain all the health information of all the people that are screened or treated, developing a national database for Grameen. All the ultrasound information, as well as the patients life history, will be stored within the database. Dr. Yunus vision is of healthcare as a social business, instead of a business based primarily on the profit motive. In addition, during my trip I was lucky enough to enjoy the company of Shafiqual Haque Choudhury of ASA Bank, Professor Gowher Rizvi (one of the advisors to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh), Ambassador James Moriarty (Vice-Chancellor of University of Dhaka), and many more. I was honored to learn of the contributions each has made to Bangladesh, and am now inspired to contribute to the improvement of the lives of individuals throughout the world.
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Social Work, the UN, and the UU-UNO

By: Amy Kendziorski

The summer before my senior year in high school, I took a service trip to Jamaica that changed my outlook on life forever. I quickly realized that this was what I wanted to pursue as a career, and social work seemed like the best way to get there. This experience is what led to my dream of working for the most established international agency in the world the United Nations. In May 2010, I graduated from Saint Marys College, where I participated in study abroad programs, one involving a year in Ireland, that further enhanced my passion for the international field. Deciding to pursue an MSW, I chose Fordham University as the school to attend in my mission to work for the United Nations. The Fordham staff has helped me to achieve my goal, and now here I am at the UU-UNO, where I work on issues involving the Faith and Ethics Network for the International Criminal Court (FENICC), in addition to other human rights initiatives sponsored by the Office. During Spring Break I went on a trip to the Dominican Republic to work in the Bateyes, Haitian Refugee camps. Like my Jamaican experience, I spent a lot of time working with and getting to know the locals. We worked doing community needs assessments of the Bateyes, in addition to crossing into Haiti (which was an experience in and of itself). Additionally, I am planning a trip to Zambia over the summer, to work with AIDS orphans and mentor a group of high school youth as they discern their own life vocations. My growing appreciation for what it means to work in the third world grows each time I venture to a new part of it; I learn what it is to rely on community and family, and to unite as one in order to not only survive, but to learn to thrive and find one's place in the world. As a UU-UNO Intern, I feel empowered as an individual in the field of international social work and encouraged to pursue a career in the field of global service and if possible with the United Nations. I hope to empower youth in the same way around the world.

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Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office

Dana Greeley Award
GREELEYSERMON@UU-UNO.ORG

CARE ABOUT WOMENS EMPOWERMENT? SPREAD YOUR MESSAGE AND COMPETE TO WIN THE GREELEY AWARD IN 2012!
The UU-UNO invites submissions of sermons or addresses that speak to building a more just international community. The award honors the memory of Reverend Dana McLean Greeley, the first president of the Unitarian Universalist Association and a strong supporter of the United Nations. Winners receive a $1000.00 honorarium and the opportunity to deliver the winning address at General Assembly 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona .

What better incentive to write a great UN Sunday sermon?

For more information about UN Sunday visit: http://www.uu-uno.org/getinvolved/un-sunday/
Send submissions by February 1, 2012 via email to greeleysermon@uu-uno.org. Papers highlighting the work of the UN or the UU-UNO, or both, will enjoy priority consideration.

The 2011 Dana Greeley Award winners are Sarah Summers of the Unitarian Church of Oneonta and her minister Rev. Craig Schwalenberg. This years winning sermon is an unusual joint sermon on the Ethical Aspects of Climate Change where Rev. Craig Schwalenberg and Sarah Summers have a conversation from the pulpit about the work of the UU -UNO. The sermon covers the ethical aspects of climate change, but goes on to discuss all the other work that the UU-UNO does. Sarah Summers brings her own experience as a former intern at the UU-UNO to add personal touches this especially delightful sermon.
www.uu-uno.org/donate 777 UN Plaza, Suite 7G, New York, NY 10017 USA | +1.212.986.5165 | office@uu-uno.org

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UU-UNO Programs at General Assembly 2011

Friday, June 24th 2:45-4:00 PMConvention Center, 217 BC Global Empowerment of Women & Girls: Cultural & Economic Considerations
Jill Christianson Dr. Holly Atkinson Rajani Ghosh

Saturday, June 25th 1:00-2:15 PMConvention Center, Ballroom B Greeley Award Sermon: Ethical Aspects of Climate Change

Rev. Craig Schwalenberg

Sarah Summers

Saturday, June 25th 5:30-7:30 PMWestin,Trade UU-UNO Reception

Also, come find us in the International Organizations section of the GA Exhibit Hall for information on: Internship Opportunities Envoy Program Blue Ribbon Congregations Every Child is Our Child
uu-uno.org/donate 777 UN Plaza, Suite 7G, New York, NY 10017 USA | +1.212.986.5165 | office@uu-uno.org

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