31 December 2009
Humanitarian Resource Institute
Phone:
(203) 668-0282
Url: www.humanitarian.net
United Nations Arts Initiative
Arts Integration Into Education
Url: www.unarts.org
Twitter: unarts
Happy New Year: 2010 - A New Beginning
2010 represents 20 years of work in the mission field for Country Music
Association Artist Stephen Michael Apatow, Founder, Humanitarian
Resource Institute:
- 1990:
NCADI Campaign opens the first toll free hotline providing access to
the largest information bureau in the world for substance abuse information,
materials and support. Largest touch outreach ever coordinated through the
Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
- 1993:
National Community Service Campaign impacts 133 cities from Washington,
DC to San Francisco, California. Backed by the U.S. House Select Committee
on Hunger and supporters of the Medford Declaration to End Hunger in the
United States.
- 1994:
Humanitarian Resource Institute established, moving from work on
the front lines to U.S. and International Policy Development.
- 2010:
HRI United Nations Arts Initiative established to return operations
to the front lines, "bridging unmet needs to untapped resources" on
the grassroots level in every United Nations member country, with support
of the arts and entertainment industry and logistical support of the medical,
veterinary and legal professions.
Shortly after Humanitarian Resource Institute was formed, the
following article entitled "The Ultimate Objective" outlined the scope of our mission:
The weapons are active care, compassion, concern and focused
efforts to confront the causes of violence, bigotry, hatred and depravity.
The vehicle encompasses successful initiatives that address the ills of
conflict, ignorance, poverty and disease.
In the context of The Ultimate Objective
: "When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely march, majestic as
the forest; in attack, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As
unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt." -- Adapted from Sun
Tzu. "The Art of War"
THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE
by Stephen Michael Apatow, Founder, Humanitarian
Resource Institute and the United Nations
Arts Initiative.
In Christianity, the true test of a connection with divinity is the manifestation
of love (agape: Greek) in the context of care, concern, compassion and benevolence.
The significance of this character trait is found in the bible, I Corinthians
13: 1-3:
1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels,
and have not charity (love: agape), I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal.
2. And though I have the gift of
prophesy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity
(love:agape), I am nothing.
3. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not
charity (love: agape), it profiteth me nothing.
To comprehend the significance of love (agape), we need only
to refer to the scripture that explains the substance of God, I John 4:8:
"God is Love." It is in this divine conception that the importance
of every human being is expressed, Matthew 25:40: "Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
it unto me."
In Buddhism, as expressed by the Dalai Lama: "Compassion and love
are not mere luxuries. As the source both of inner and external peace,
they are fundamental to the continued survival of our species." -- The
Four Immeasurables: Love, Compassion, Sympathetic joy, Rudy Harderwijk,
A View on Buddhism.
In Baha'i: "You must manifest complete love and affection toward
all mankind. Do not exalt yourselves above others, but consider all as
your equals, recognizing them as the servants of one God." -- Abdu'l-Baha:
Promulgation of Universal Peace, page 453.
In Confucianism: Chang Tsai’s Western Inscription (eleventh
century) was inscribed on the western wall of hang Tsai’s study and was
enormously influential in Neo-Confucian thought. Describing the essential
kinship of all beings with heaven and earth, it maintains that compassion
is the highest expression of kinship. -- Confucianism
Sacred Texts, Harvard University Center for the Environment, Forum on Religion
and Ecology.
In Judaism: The Torah commandment to love your neighbor as yourself
(Lev. 19:18), which Rabbi Akiba described as the essence of the Torah. --
Judaism 101, Love and Brotherhood.
In Hinduism, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'-- because thy neighbor is thyself; God
is in both thee and thy neighbor, and both are in God. He who acts in this
spirit need not fear that his acts will bind him to further existence." --
The Bhagavad Gita, trans. Franklin Edgerton, p. 165. Hinduism: Ethics and
Society, World Religions Area/Country Studies Cultural Awareness Language
Resource.
In Islam: "You will not enter paradise until you believe, and
you will not believe until you love one another." Sayings of the Prophet
Muhammad, Selected and Translated by Kabir Helminski.
In Jainism: Nonviolence is based on love and kindness for all
living beings. Nonviolence in Jainism is not a negative virtue.
It is based upon the positive quality of universal love and compassion.
One who is actuated by this ideal cannot be indifferent to the suffering
of others. -- Five Great Vows (Maha-vratas), Complied by Pravin K. Shah,
Jain Study Center of North Carolina.
Love inspires an interest and focus on every need, plea or cry
for help and prompts a desire to provide assistance. This standard,
applied to a local community is a microcosm of the application needed for
a state, country or global region, and includes:
(1) the need to recognize the importance of every individual;
(2) to understand the full scope of
every individuals needs, mentally, physically and spiritually;
(3) to place ourselves in the shoes
of the suffering and afflicted and;
(4) to provide help in the same capacity
as if we were in their circumstance.
In the grand picture of divinity at work in all facets of the
interfaith community, love is the common theme that unites and encompasses
the true potential through which the scope of suffering and affliction can
be alleviated and peace achieved (International Interfaith Peace Declaration).
THE THEME OF EASTERN AND WESTERN CULTURAL RELIGION
The work of divinity in all faiths is embodied in the golden
rule as the universal objective of the interfaith community:
-
Christianity: "So in everything, do to
others, what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and
the prophets" -- New Testament: MT 7:12 NIV
-
Buddhism: Treat not others in ways that
yourself would find hurtful.-- Udana-Varga 5.18
-
Baha'i: Lay not on any soul a load that
you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things
you would not desire for yourself. -- Baha'u'llah Gleanings
-
Confucianism: One word which sums up the
basis for all good conduct...loving kindness. Do not do to others what
you would not want done to yourself. -- Confucius Analects 15:23
-
Hinduism: This is the sum of duty: do not
do to others what would cause pain if done to you. -- Mahabharata 5:1517
-
Islam: Not one of you truly believes until
you wish for others what you wish for yourself. -- The Prophet Mohammed,
Hadith
-
Judaism: What is hateful to you do
not do to your neighbor. This is the whole torah; all the rest is commentary.
-- Hillel, Talmad, Shabbat 31a
-
Native Spirituality: We are as much alive
as we keep the earth alive. -- Chief Dan George
-
Janism: One should treat all creatures in
the world as one would like to be treated. -- Mahavira, Sutravitanga
-
Sikhism: I am no stranger to no one;
an no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all. -- Guru Granth
Sahib, pg.1299
-
Taoism: Regard your neighbor's gain as your
own gain, and your neighbors loss as your own loss.-- T'ai Shang Kan
Ying P'ien, 213-218
-
Unitarianism: We affirm and promote respect
for the interdependent of all existence of which we are a part. --
Unitarian principle
-
Zoroastrianism: Do not unto others what
is injurious to yourself. -- Shayast-na-Shayast 13.29
THE CHALLENGES
With all existant United Nations Programs,
NGO's and Interfaith Humanitarian Relief Operations
Global Overview
In developing countries, 91 children
out of 1,000 die before their fifth birthday. By comparison, in the United
States 8 children in 1,000 will die before turning five years old. (State
of the World's Children 2000. UNICEF)
More than 800 million people in the world are malnourished—777 million
of them are from the developing world. 2 And 177 million of them are children.
(State of the World's Children 2000. UNICEF)
Each day in the developing world, 30,100 children die from mostly preventable
and treatable causes such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections or malaria.
Malnutrition is associated with over half of those deaths. (Mapping of
the Food Supply Gap 1998. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations)
In the last 50 years, almost 400 million
people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation, according to
the report. That's three times the number of people killed in all wars
fought in the entire 20th century. (Bread for the World Institute on Hunger
and Development)
Virtually every country in the world has the potential of growing sufficient
food on a sustainable basis. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations has set the minimum requirement for caloric intake per person
per day at 2350. Worldwide, there are 2720 calories available per person
per day. 54 countries fall below that requirement; they do not produce enough
food to feed their populations, nor are they able to afford to import the
necessary commodities to make up the gap. Most of these countries are in
sub-Saharan Africa. (State of the World's Children 2000. UNICEF)
The wealthiest fifth of the world's people consume an astonishing 86
percent of all goods and services, while the poorest fifth consumes one-percent.
(World Development Report 1998. World Bank)
Of the 6 billion people in today's world, 1.2 billion live below $1
per day. (State of the World's Children 2000. UNICEF)
2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. (Human Development
Report 1998. United Nations Development Programme)
900 million people lack access to adequate health services. (Global
Challenge, Global Opportunity 2002. United Nations)
1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Contaminated water
kills 2.2 million people per year. (Human Development Report 2002, Deepening
Democracy in a Fragmented World, United Nations Development Programme).
United States
The Nation’s Food Bank Network (A2H), the nation’s largest network of
emergency food providers has completed in-person interviews with 52,878 clients
served by the A2H National Network, as well as on completed questionnaires
from 31,342 A2H agencies. The A2H system served an estimated 24 to 27
million unduplicated people annually, with a midpoint of 25.3 million.
42% of clients served by the A2H National Network report having to choose
between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel. 35%
had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage.
32% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical
care. (Second Harvest: Hunger Study - 2006).
As many as 3.5 million people experience homelessness
in a given year (1% of the entire U.S. population or 10% of its poor), and
about 842,000 people in any given week. (Wickpedia 2008: Homelessness in
the United States, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:
Who is homeless?)
Approximately 40% of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise
only 34% of the general adult male population. The National Coalition for
Homeless Veterans estimates that on any given night, 200,000 veterans are
homeless, and 400,000 veterans will experience homelessness during the course
of a year. (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 2006).
Homeless youth are individuals under the age of eighteen who
lack parental, foster, or institutional care. These young people are sometimes
referred to as "unaccompanied" youth. The number of the homeless youth is
estimated by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in
the US Department of Justice. Their most recent study, published in 2002,
reported there are an estimated 1,682,900 homeless and runaway youth. --
(National Coalition for the Homeless, June 2008).
Approximately 5,000 runaway and homeless youth die each year of assault,
disease, and suicide. (National Runaway Switchboard Statistics)
It is in pursuit of strategic planning and project development,
to address the size and scope of unmet needs that exist in the global landscape,
that Humanitarian Resource Institute exists today.
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Wishing you and yours a Happy and Healthy New Year !!!
