Pain and suffering around the world

Today I'm listening to news about the brutal terrorist attack in Israel, following the continuing Russian attack in Ukraine, and looking at headlines about kids killing kids in the USA.  

It's overwhelming.

A few years ago I posted a map showing disaster areas throughout the world.  Today I looked for updated information and found this detailed map on the Visual Capitalist website.

The Reliefweb website also has a map showing disasters around the world.  

As I look at the scale of these conflicts and natural disasters I ask, "How can I keep trying to help kids in  high poverty areas connect with tutors/mentors in organized, on-going non-school programs?"  That seems like such a small issue compared to these larger conflicts and disasters.

This is not a new concern for me.  Below is a graphic I created in the 1990s. 

This shows a goal of attracting a small percent of attention and philanthropy to youth tutor/mentor programs on a regular basis.

Below is another graphic that I created to show the need to divide attention and giving into slices of a pie so that a small percent goes to on-going problem solving, like helping kids entering 1st grade today be entering jobs/careers in 12 to 20 years.

Here's another. It uses the pie chart from the graphic shown at the top of this page, to emphasize how every non-profit youth program competes for a small, inconsistent, pool of donor dollars.

My goal has been to draw youth serving programs together in an on-going campaign that educates donors and increases the size of the pie, and motivates them to look for 1) where tutor/mentor programs are most needed; 2) choose a zip code you want to help; 3) look at websites for programs in that area to see what they do and what help they need; 4) then look in a mirror, and decide how, and how much, you want to help.

While we need to give attention to disasters and conflict around the world, and in America, we need to continue to devote a small slice of time and dollars to helping kids grow up safely and well-prepared to be leaders in their adult lives. 

World Migration Map Combines GIS and Social Network Analysis

I'm on Twitter @tutormentorteam and my feed constantly introduces me to new ideas.  At the left is a world map showing migration patterns, to new countries and from home countries. It was created using a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps, and Social Network Analysis (SNA) tools.

This article shows how the map was created, tells why it was created and points to a live tool that anyone can use to better understand one of the most important issues facing the US and the world as we move further into this century.

If you operate a volunteer-based tutor and/or mentor program and include a computer center at your facility, you and your volunteers could be reading these articles and then teaching young people to use the tools. In a few years, they could be creating these stories and in a few more years they might be leading companies or leading the nation, using these technologies as decision support tools.

Pain and suffering throughout the world - how do we respond?

I have been watching the daily news briefs following hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Mexico, along with daily shootings that take lives of young people in Chicago and other cities.  Yesterday I did a search to see if anyone had been mapping locations of natural disasters throughout the world.  I found the map below, showing events in 2014, on this United Nations Disaster Prevention resource page.

This map only shows natural disasters. If wars, terrorism and other man-made disasters were plotted on the map, or added as an overlay, we'd see a lot more pain in some parts of the world, but not much more than what's on the map now, in other parts of the world. If poverty overlays were added, we'd see that much of the man-made and natural disasters hit people hardest in high poverty area. These are areas where people have the fewest resources to rebuild their own lives and communities.

With so many bad things happening, how can anyone find a meaningful way to respond?  I encourage you to visit this article, which I posted over the weekend on the Tutor/Mentor blog. It includes the graphic shown below.

Look at the slanted white line in the middle of this figure-8 graphic.  This represents information, such as the UN Disaster Prevention site, or the Tutor/Mentor web library, which people can use to learn more about any of these problems, learn what some people are doing in different places to solve the problem, and find places where they might get involved with time, talent and dollars.  It also represents the role of intermediaries, who help people connect with this information and  help them  understand how to apply it.

I first used this ENOUGH list in 2007 after seeing a newspaper headline following a shooting in Chicago, where a talking head said "Enough is Enough".  This is a list of steps anyone can follow to become involved.

A couple of months ago I updated it in a video that you can find here.  The first step is educate yourself, and the second is educate your network. Use the information made available by myself an others to know more about some of these problems and to find ways to use your time, talent and dollars to become part of the solution.

Related article: "I'm up to my neck in alligators. How do I drain the swamp"  click here

I've never claimed to have the solution to any of these problems. I only offer a learning path that might lead to solutions if more people begin to use it.  Want to connect with me? Visit this page to see social media pages where you can find me.

Update 7-4- 2018 - network analysis showing migration patterns around the world. click here

Update 2-20-2019 - Migration Policy Institute site is an in-depth resource for information about this crisis. Click here

Update 3-4-2018 - "The 10 shocking humanitarian crises you probably haven't heard of" - plenty of pain throughout the world. click here

Update 3-13/2019 - Visit this #investinhumanity page on Twitter and be reminded of the many places in the world where there is daily pain and suffering.

Update 12-11/2021 - Global Conflicts in 2021 - click here