Monthly Archives: June 2008

Mature Women and Young Women

Interviews of the NLS of Mature women and the NLS of Young women began in the mid-1960s because the U.S. Department of Labor was interested in studying the employment patters of these two groups of women. The NLS of Mature women was a group of women in their 30s and early 40s, many of whom were reentering the workforce and balancing the roles of homemaker, mother and labor force participants. The NLS of Young women was comprised of women in their teen and early 20s who were completing school making initial career and job decisions, and starting families. Respondents in the mature and young women’s cohorts continue to be interviewed on a biennial basis, and have been interviewed for over 3 decades.
Interviews started in 1967 for the NLS mature women, a group of 5,083 women ages 20 to 44. Their longitudinal record encompasses, for many, the reentry into the labor market at middle age after child rearing as well as retirement decisions.

In 1968, interviews were initiated with the NLS young women, a cohort of 5,159 women ages 14 to 24. At that time, many were leaving their parent’s home, making initial career and job decisions, and beginning families of their own. Now in their mid-forties to fifties, these women too are beginning to contemplate retirement issues. Others face choices regarding labor force attachments as, for many, their children leave the home.

A unique aspect of the original cohorts sample design allows for intrahousehold comparisons using members from different cohorts. At the time samples were drawn, half of the mature women’s cohorts and a third of the men as well as three-quarters of both the young men and young women cohorts shared a household with another cohort member. This allows for intergeneration studies such as income and time transfers, economic linkages among family members, and the examination of how family stability affects socioeconomic success. [More about multiple respondent households.]

Surveys of the women’s cohorts have collected three basic types of information: (1) Core data on each respondent’s work and nonwork experiences, training investments, school, (including a separate survey of respondent’s high schools,) family income and assets, physical well-being, and geographic residence; (2) Background information on her marital and fertility history; and (3) supplementary data specific to the age, stage of life or labor market attachment of the cohort (for example, household responsibilities, child care arrangements, retirement plans, volunteer work.)

http://www.bls.gov/nls/matureyoungwomen.htm

Mangyan handmade products empower women

CITY OF CALAPAN — The Kapulungan para sa Lupaing Ninuno (KPLN), a province-wide federation of all the seven Mangyan tribes working on their rights and livelihood programs, has been exerting efforts to preserve the Mangyan culture, generate income and empower the Mangyan women.

One such initiative is the production and promotion of new Mangyan handicraft product lines for export, which the KPLN formally launched on March 13 at the Girl Scouts of the Philippines hall here.

The project is dubbed as Produktong Likhang Kamay (PLK).

Hanunuo Mangyan Gerry Tupaz, handicrafts coordinator, says the products were made from indigenous materials like nito, rattan, bikal, buri, cogon, talahib, hipgid, gurimot, hinggiw, uyason, hagnaya, lucmoy, banban and indigenous vines.

The product line includes tote bags, sling bags, tapered bags, cosmetic kits, tissue holders, napkin rings, utensil boxes, place mats with and without pockets, doorknob hangers and pillow cases.

These were showcased in Boracay last Feb. 15-17.

Last year, some of the products were introduced during the “Crafts and Coffee” event held at Bel Air in Makati, Partnerships Forum during the Indigenous People’s Day and Social Development Week at Glorietta.

Enulie Kadlos of Mansalay town, a leader of the Hanunuo Mangyan, says they are happy that women are being given attention through the PLK project.

“We’re happy to be earning while learning many things. But we will also keep and practice what we learned from our ancestors,” she says in Filipino.

Kadlos completes a bag in four days, making her earn a minimum of P20 per day.

“It’s a supplement to what we get from farming,” she says.

Erlina Sudayi, a Hanunuo from Bulalacao, the southernmost town of Oriental Mindoro, says they were grateful for the capital that was given to them.

The participants in the PLK project are grouped together, with eight to 20 members each group, based on their residence.

According to records, the household income of members covered by the project rose from 75 percent in 2006 to 113 percent in 2007.

The household needs covered by the project also increased from 30 percent in 2006 to 46 percent in 2007.

The PLK project started in July 2006 although it was formally launched only on March 13.

It was among the Mangyan Partner Producer Groups composed of three groups from the Hanunuo tribe, one from the Buhid tribe and one from the Alangan Mangyan tribe.

All of them have formulated their community visions. Common among them is meeting their family needs and financial sustainability.

The Hanunuo women’s groups have been into ramit cloth weaving using the back strap weaving system, mostly focused on women skirts.

The Buhid women engage in weaving and handicraft-making using beads, buri and nito. These are hits among foreigners.

The Alangan women want to be known for their cogon place mats, bags and bamboo rocking chairs.

Their respective communities are motivated to plant to produce and sell the raw materials for PLK products.

The nongovernment organization Non-Timber Forest Products-Task Force/Custom-Made Crafts Center (NTFP-TF/CMCC) advises the KPLN on product development.

“They’ve gone through more than 50 percent of the processes in production and marketing and we envision them to be like Natripal (in Palawan) which already has its own product shop,” said Rex dela Pe?a, a coach from NTFP-TF.

Moreover, Dela Pe?a says, they want the Mangyans to enjoy fair trade — meaning their community, production and products are treated and compensated enough.

Among the challenges the KPLN is addressing are quality control of the products and on-time delivery, which Mangyans are not used to.

The Mangyan federation also conducts basic training on bookkeeping, pricing, marketing, handicraft production technology and planning, participatory business planning, sample makers’ training, entrepreneurial course, warehouse and inventory management.

KPLN’s project is being financed with grant from The World Conservation Union.

Approaching their third year, KPLN has opened assistance on a project proposal amounting to P639,000 to expand its program.

The KPLN seeks assistance in terms of trainings, networking funding, promotion, production, product development and transportation of products.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20080517-137194/Mangyan-handmade-products-empower-women

Pratibha Patil vows to empower women

By Kamilla Hemandas
What do Sonia Gandhi, Aishwarya Rai, Arundhati Roy, and Pratibha Patil, have in common? They are a remarkable new crop of women who are slowly changing the perception and self-image of women all over India. The Italian-born Sonia Gandhi won the admiration of the nation when she decided to step aside and allow Manmohan Singh to be prime minister of the country, despite the power it would have bestowed on her. A gesture few politicians, would have had the courage to maneuver and has since propelled the nation’s economy. Aishwarya Rai has often been called one of the most beautiful women in the world. The uber popular A-list Bollywood actress, who is also the face of Lancome and Longines, chose to marry her beau, the equally-famous Abishek Bachan, in a private traditional ceremony open only to close family and friends. The couple, despite their high-profile lives, demonstrated a heartwarming humility, adhering to age-old values, as they visited many temples invoking the blessings of the gods before their final wedding day. Arundhati Roy, novelist and activist, is the Booker Prize award-winning author of international best-seller, The God of Small Things.

Pratibha Patil is the nation’s first woman president. As the world’s most populous democracy, this is considered a giant leap for women all over India. A lawyer, congresswoman and governor of famed tourist destination state, Rajasthan, Patil takes over from popular rocket scientist Abdul Kalaam. His may be big shoes to fill, but Patil is optimistic that her position, although ceremonial, will bring about much-deserved awareness to another sector of the nation, the plight of women in the predominantly patriarchal Indian society.

Jawaharlal Nehru, architect and founding father of its democracy, often said, “you can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.” If Patil’s election is an indication of the nation’s social compass, then it is charging on in the right direction and its value system well in place. Sonia Gandhi, Congress Party leader, who handpicked Patil, described her victory as a “special moment for the women of India.”

It is not clear how the 72-year-old demure lawyer, who covers her head in a saree with the quintessential traditional red dot on her forehead, but for sure Patil has pledged to use her post as a platform to improve the lives of women, especially in the rural areas. In a society where arranged marriages and dowry conflicts are prevalent, Patil’s victory is perceived as a huge step towards gender equality. It has been 40 years since Indian politics had a woman in such a top position, last being Indira Gandhi. Patil, in her acceptance speech, expressed, “Empowerment of women is particularly important for me. Today, India stands at a new threshold of progress. Our combined endeavors should be to ensure that the rate of economic growth is sustained and it is socially inclusive.” She vowed that she would be committed to the eradication of social ills like illiteracy, malnutrition and infant mortality. “I feel deeply honored. This will send the right signal about the status of women.” Patil’s victory is not just a personal one, it is a victory for all women in the third world.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife4_aug23_2007

CHR probes air assault which killed civilians

Philippine human rights investigators on Tuesday began a probe of the air strike which killed seven civilians in the restive southern region of Mindanao.

Mosib Tan, municipal administrator of Datu Piang town, said members of the Commission on Human Rights are currently investigating the deaths of a farming couple and their five children.

http://www.childrehabcenter.org/news/press/chr-probes-air-assault-which-killed-civilians

AFP is accountable for the death of children in Datu Piang, Maguindanao

Children’s Rehabilitation Center, a child rights organization here in Southern Mindanao strongly condemned the random bombings made by the Armed Forces of the Philippines particularly the Philippine Airforce last September 8, 2008 in Datu Piang, Maguindanao which killed 6 civillians including 4 innocent children who were evacuating their community on board a motorboat.

Based on reports, killed were Aida Mandi; 23 years old, and her children Bailyn; 10yrs old, Zukarudin; 7 years old, Adtayan; 5years old and Faida; 2years old. The father, and another son are stil missing.

Advocacy Officer John Birondo said that the war launched by the government against the MILF clearly doesn’t solve the problems of the Moro people but instead worsened the conflict situation in Mindanao and only adds up to the counts of gross children’s rights violation.

Birondo said “the way towards peace in Mindanao is made dim by the government in its callous action of declaring war. It is very depressing that innocent civilians especially children are the ones who were suffering the consequences of such brutal actions.

“Many lives of children are already ruined and lost, thus we demand that the government should act on its mandate in protecting the children and uphold their rights”, he added.

Birondo expressed grave concern on the statements of Col. Marlou Salazar of the 601st Brigade and Maj. Gen. Hernanie Perez of Philippine Airforce 3rd Air Division labeling the children victims as child combatants of the MILF.

“The military officials are just making an excuse and justifying their cold blooded violations committed against the children. The situation of the children will be worsened with the AFP’s statement thus making children as legitimate targets of the AFP’s indiscriminate military offensives” he said.

Children’s Rehabilitation Center held the AFP and the Arroyo Government particularly the Philippine Airforce 3rd Air Division who conducted the aerial bombings accountable for the death of the children and violating the children’s rights.

http://www.childrehabcenter.org/news/mediareleases/afp-accountable-death-children-datu-piang-maguindanao

When Children-Victims of Child Rights Violation are tagged as ‘Child Soldier’

CRC Executive Director Ma. Esmeralda Macaspac said the Philippine government uses the broad definition of ‘child soldiers’ in the Paris Principles to evade prosecution for violating children’s rights. Worse, she said, “Communities and people’s organizations branded as guerilla fronts by a paranoid regime become vulnerable to attacks and children are bound to be branded as ‘children associated with armed groups’ by virtue of being residents of these communities or children of members of such organizations.”
At the height of military offensives in Mindanao, a military officer claimed that the four children who were killed in the Sept. 8, 2008 bombing incident in Datu Piang, Maguindanao were ‘child soldiers.’

Col. Marlou Salazar of the 601st Brigade and Maj. Gen. Hernanie Perez of Philippine Air Force 3rd Air Division said the six persons including four children aged two to ten years old who were killed after an OV-10 aircraft of the Philippine Air Force bombed the civilians evacuating from their community were all rebels.

On March 13, 2002, Grecil Buya, a nine-year-old gir,l was killed by soldiers in Compostella Valley. Davao Today reported that General Carlos Holganza, the commander of the Philippine Army’s 101st Brigade whose men killed Grecil, said there were indications that the girl was a member of the New People’s Army (NPA). The girl’s mother and the barangay (village) captain refuted the military’s claim.

On February 10, 2006, eleven backpackers, including two minors, were accused by the police as members of the NPA responsible for the raid on a military detachment in Mankayan town, Benguet. Ten months later, the Benguet Regional Trial Court dismissed the homicide and arson cases against the youth backpackers for lack of evidence.

CRC Executive Director Ma. Esmeralda Macaspac cited these cases at a forum in Quezon City last week. She said the Philippine government uses the broad definition of ‘child soldiers’ in the Paris Principles to evade prosecution for violating children’s rights.

http://www.childrehabcenter.org/news/press/when-children-victims-child-rights-violation-are-tagged-child-soldier

Children teaching children

At the Gumapak Elementary School, children are being taught by their peers. This speaks well of the capabilities of “teachers” Nicole Ashley Basco, all of 9 years old, and Jean Karen Bayaborda, 8, both now in fourth grade. But it also highlights the acute shortage of teachers in the country’s public schools.

The government has always had problems finding teachers for schools in conflict areas particularly in Mindanao, where bandits and Islamic separatists often target schools for raids. Gumapak Elementary is in the town of Tuy in Batangas, a province with no serious peace and order problem. But the school is located at the foot of a mountain and is accessible only by narrow dirt roads that become impassable during heavy rains. Many of the students in the school are unfamiliar with the usual landmarks of Philippine progress: an SM shopping mall or Jollibee.

And so Gumapak has more than its usual share of difficulties in getting enough teachers for its elementary school. Last March one of the school’s teachers was injured in a motorcycle accident. With another teacher needing to handle classes from Grades One to Four, the school supervisor was forced to seek help from its top-performing third graders, Basco and Bayaborda.

It may not be the last time that they will be tapped to help. While teaching may be a good experience for the two students, it could also interfere in their own education, and there is no substitute for the knowledge imparted to youngsters by an adult teacher.

How to recruit enough of those teachers has long been a problem in the public education system. Education has lost its allure as a career for those who want a decent return on their investments in tuition, time and effort in obtaining a college degree. Those who become educators are dismayed by the disparity in pay for teachers in the private and public sectors, ranging from 40 percent at entry level to more than 70 percent at supervisory levels.

The government must not only make public education an attractive career; it must also raise the quality of training of those who still want to join the teaching profession. While the help of student-teachers is appreciated, proper education must be provided by qualified professionals.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=475812

Holy Father backs U.N. push to protect children

VATICAN, June 5, 2009– Pope Benedict XVI has sent a telegram to the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE) to lend his support to a worldwide call for a “new mobilization on behalf of children” initiated by the United Nations in Geneva.

The telegram references the U.N.’s Convention on the Rights of the Child and says, “Twenty years after its ratification, there is an urgent need for it to be implemented to the full.” This is especially important, “given the new challenges” of the modern world. The Convention, ratified two decades ago, sets out the basic human rights of children that must be respected, based on the four core principles of non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.

National governments that have agreed to the obligations of the Convention have committed themselves to upholding its standards and to being held accountable before the international community.

Now, the Pope is calling upon the international community to see that the principles outlined in the Convention are being put into practice.

In his telegram, the Holy Father stresses the necessity of “respecting the inviolable dignity and rights of children, of recognizing the fundamental educational mission of the family” and of “a stable social environment capable of favoring the physical, cultural and moral development of all children.”

The Pope continues by calling on Catholic organizations such as BICE “to work generously for a correct application of the Convention, and for the construction of a future of hope, security and happiness for the children of our world.”

Founded in 1948, BICE works to promote and protect the rights and dignity of children around the world. It works in a special way to support the most vulnerable children in society, including those at risk or suffering from abuse, exploitation, or violence. (CNA)

http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/9075

Jollibee Foundation helps children in need

The largest fastfood chain in the country, Jollibee continues to be actively committed in enhancing the lives and promote the welfare of Filipino children.

In line with this advocacy, Jollibee turned over donations totaling P18 million to eight foundations engaged in programs and projects that directly benefit children.

Heads and representatives of the different foundations, along with some of their children beneficiaries, received the certificate of donation in a program held at the Manila Ocean Park. Guests and children beneficiaries were also treated to a special day of fun and exploration complete with an Oceanarium journey after the formal program.

The grand gift-giving project was spearheaded by Jollibee, Jollibee Franchisees Association (JFA) with the support of Jollibee Foundation. Specifically, the amount raised for the donation came from the sales of Hug & Share dolls, a special 30th anniversary novelty offering last year that was participated in by all Jollibee stores and which was warmly received by customers across the country. The fund raising project was also tied in with Jollibee’s annual MaAga ang Pasko toy and book collection drive.

“Through the help of the JFA and the Jollibee Foundation, and with the support of our customers, Jollibee hopes to alleviate the plight of Filipino children who at their tender age, are already faced with various challenges. We are proud to extend support to organizations that are steadfastly working to give these children a better life,” said M’ Gold F. Tantoco, Vice President for Marketing of Jollibee SBU.

“We initiated this project as our way of saying thank you and giving back to Filipino children who have helped a great deal in ensuring Jollibee’s success throughout the years,” said S’ George De Guzman, Chairman of the JFA.

The eight beneficiaries of the project are Cottolengo Filipino (Rizal), ERDA Tech (Manila), Families and Children for Empowerment and Development Foundation (FECD Manila), House with No Steps (Quezon City), Marcellin Project (General Santos City), Shontoug Foundation (Baguio City), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (Quezon City), and the Busog, Lusog, Talino In-School Feeding Program of the Jollibee Foundation (Leyte).

The beneficiaries will use the donation to fund different initiatives that would go towards the welfare of underprivileged children or those requiring special attention, training or care.

http://goodnewspilipinas.com/wp/?p=5566

Cash compensation for Bangladesh’s child jockeys

Bangladeshi children trafficked to the Middle East to work as camel jockeys will receive thousands of dollars in compensation for the injuries and abuse they suffered, an official in Dhaka said Wednesday.

Tanjim Ahmed, Bangladesh’s minister for home affairs, said a delegation from the United Arab Emirates travelled to the country this week and handed over a cheque for 1.43 million dollars to be divided between 879 children.

“Using children as camel jockeys was a despicable incident. It stirred the world’s conscience. The scars will heal through this compensation,” Ahmed said.

Each former child jockey will get between 1,000 and 10,000 dollars, he said.

In the 1990s, thousands of young boys — some as young as three — were sold to Arab countries such as UAE and Saudi Arabia, where their small size was valued in the competitive camel racing scene.

The jockeys frequently fell off the animals, sustaining injuries that could be fatal if they were trampled upon, according to the UN children’s fund UNICEF.

“This compensation programme will be a great help to those affected children for their rehabilitation, medical treatment and education,” Ahmed said.

About 200 Bangladeshi children were repatriated in 2005 when the UAE signed an agreement with UNICEF to outlaw the practice.

The UAE officially banned child jockeys in 1993 although abuses remained widespread until the 2005 agreement.

The UAE announced in October last year it would give 52,700 dollars to Bangladeshi children identified as having worked as camel jockeys, but Ahmed said a nationwide search in Bangladesh had uncovered hundreds more.

Munna Mia, who worked in Dubai as a camel jockey from the age of five to nine, welcomed the compensation but said he still suffered the emotional and physical scars.

“We are poor. This money is like winning the lottery for us, but it won’t erase the pain and suffering I went through,” Mia, now 17, told AFP by phone from northern Bangladesh where he works in a shop.

“I don’t know how much money I will get,” he added.

Christine Jaulmes, spokesperson for UNICEF in Bangladesh, said the UAE’s money was an important step in eradicating child jockeys throughout the Gulf States.

“The UAE government can play a key role in advocating that other Gulf countries must act against the involvement of children in camel racing and fight against other forms of trafficking,” she said.

Grinding poverty and lack of jobs in Bangladesh, where 40 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, drives millions abroad each year to send money back to their families.

Poor parents are vulnerable to traffickers who prey on their desperation by making false promises of good jobs abroad for their children.

Instead, some parents find that their children end up working as camel jockeys, prostitutes or maids working in slave-like conditions.

http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3284457