Futures market investing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Futures market investing - Essay Example ed in the prices of grain to fall and therefore the dealers started selling the contracts as To Arrive contracts, that consisted of the delivery of the grain at a future date on a price specified already on the agreed contract. This got them buyers and reduced their risk and this is how futures market started gaining its roots in the commodities market. The futures market is usually defined as the auction market in which the participants of the market are involved in the transactions of buying and selling the commodities or the future contracts on the terms of the delivery dates in future with the present level agreed prices by both the parties (Valdez 35). Futures market and trading in this area is usually considered to be having a high level of risk involved with it and many speculation aspects are involved in this element. Investing in the futures market are considered as gambling by many investors as the market are unpredictable and anything can be expected for the future. Unpredictable market situations can be both positive and negative for the contractor but usually futures market tends to decrease the level of risk as at times prices are negotiated at an early stage (Sullivan and Sheffrin 76). Along with the element of risk that is involved in the futures market it is also an irony that the futures market can be used a tool for minimizing the level of risk. For this, there needs to be carried out proper planning and research, analysis needs to be made by looking at the facts and figures and the history, and then finally the money then should be managed accordingly. This way of using the future market tool can prove to be highly profitable. When the previous history and future prospects are analysed then it becomes easier for the investor to invest in the futures market for gaining substantial level of returns (Sullivan and Sheffrin 98). There are many reasons present for considering investment in the futures market by individuals and corporations. There

Relevance of Standard Costing & Variance Analysis Essay

Relevance of Standard Costing & Variance Analysis - Essay Example The standard cost is a predetermined unit cost i.e. the price and standard amount of each resource to be utilized in manufacturing a product and providing a service. A variance is the difference of actual cost incurred and expected standard cost. The variance analysis involves breakup of total variance to explain how much variance is caused by difference in use of resources from the standard usage quantity and how much variance is caused by the difference in prices of resources from the standard costs (Scarlett, 2008, p.96). The standard costing can be advantageous only if the cost standards are carefully established and prudently used. The use of standards solely for placing blame can have negative impact on management and employees. The major advantages include better management planning, promotes economy by making the employees understand importance of cost reduction, setting selling price, management control, highlights variances in management by exception and simplify the invent ories’ costs reducing clerical costs (Weygandt, Kimmel & Kieso, 2009, p.495). Standard costing system was developed in accordance with the traditional manufacturing environment which has changed drastically in recent competitive environment. The critics of standard costing and variance analysis site the following reasons for its declining relevance: Changing Cost Structure: Provided that the standard costing is suited to the control of variable and direct costs but not fixed and indirect costs, the usefulness of standard costing has been questioned because the in recent times the overhead costs have become the relevant factory costs whereas the importance of direct labour costs has diminished. Inconsistency with JIT (Just-in-Time) Philosophy: JIT is an inventory system which works towards keeping zero inventories and reducing handling, warehousing and financing costs and time associated with tracking stocks and movements (Ajami & Goddard, 2006, p.357). This system has been wi dely adopted by American and European firms in the last decade. Although critics of standard costing and variance analysis assert that if performance of purchasing department is evaluated on the basis of purchase price variance then the purchase managers will be motivated to obtain materials at the lowest possible costs which can result in selection of many suppliers on the basis of lowest price, large quantity purchases resulting in larger inventories, low quality goods and indifference towards attainment of on-time delivery. This contradicts the JIT philosophy. Overemphasis on the importance of Direct Labour: The fact that direct labour has lost its importance in modern manufacturing and is a small proportion of the total factory costs, makes the standard costing irrelevant because most of the overhead costs are allocated to the cost centres on the basis of direct labour hours. To reduce their allocated costs the managers try to reduce the direct labour hours which diverts the att ention from controlling the rising overhead costs. This is not an inadequacy of standard costing rather a faulty application of it to rely on volume variances to control short term costs and performance evaluation. Inconsistent with Continuous Improvement Philosophy: The

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss

Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss An Analysis of Kiran Desais Inheritance of Loss This second novel by Kiran Desai drips with the theme of colonial mentality of ignoring ones cultural roots and looking over the fence to seemingly greener pastures of other cultures. This is a story of exiles at home and abroad, of families broken and fixed, of love both bitter and bittersweet. Desais characters effectively depict varying kinds and levels of discontent at their own personhoods. It is a mix of pathetic illusions of being part of a culture that does not acknowledge them, hypocritical snubbing of ones own culture and journeying into knowing ones real self and true roots. Jemubhai Patel is an embittered judge, wounded by his past, which holds both hurtful and glorious memories. It is ironic how much love he can shower on an animal, his pet dog, while he regards other people with distrust. He has shut himself off from all human contact. Sai is the youthful granddaughter who somehow tames Patels otherwise dark persona with her feistiness and curiosity. She reminds him of himself when he was a youth. Sai is one person who gives hope that her grandfather will ultimately come out of the tough shell he has built around himself. Biju is the pathetic illegal worker disillusioned in America. He came there with great hopes and dreams but came home with a lot of frustrations and a renewed passion for his homeland. Gyan, Sais idealistic suitor is torn between his loyalty to his ethnic origins and his infatuation for his beautiful and intelligent tutee, Sai. The cook, Bijus father is the traditional, superstitious and chatty helper awed by the allures of modernization and is bent on his son to realize the American dream. It is through this cooks voice that the reader learns a parallel story about love and loss. Patels neighbors, Lola and Noni are Anglophiles who might be savvy readers of V.S. Naipaul but who are, perhaps, less aware of how fragile their own social standing isat least until a surge of unrest disturbs the region. The title of the book is so intriguing. When one hears of an inheritance, it is usually something so precious, so cherished that the next generation anticipates it to be bequeathed with pride and honor. Desais Inheritance of Loss truly reflects her adeptness for irony. True, the pathetic state of loss can be inherited and may be passed on to future generations, but how can anyone anticipate such a dreadful fate?   The story is delivered in such a compelling way that the reader understands the process of loss of cultural identity being passed on from the elders to the young. The book tells of different stories but anchors its base on Kalimpong in the at the foothills of Mount Kanchenjunga in the northern Himalayas, specifically in the decaying cottage named Cho Oyu, the household of Jemubhai Patel, who lives with his granddaughter, Sai and his beloved dog, Mutt. The once-magnificent home has vestiges of its splendor with its lacelike gates that hang from two stone pillars, high, gorgeous ceilings, windows that show a picturesque view of the mountains, Owing to neglect and apathy, its once beautiful wooden floors are rotted, mice run about freely, and extreme cold permeates everything. Termites are steadily chewing at the cottages wooden frame, furniture, and floors. Patel is not blind to its pathetic disintegration, and somehow embraces it. It may be reflective of how he feels inside. Patel is a retired judge from the prestigious Indian Civil Service, the British Empires old steel frame: a few hundred white civil servants who had administered the subcontinent with the help of a handful of Indians, recruited starting in 1879. Patel relishes his glory days and is embittered by a painful past and of being an Indian himself. The narrative shifts from this native setting to the grubby kitchens of New York restaurants where illegal foreigners hide from the authorities out to deport them to their countries of origin. Desai expertly presents ironies in vivid detail that at times, it seems hilarious. The strange and creative interplay of the image projected and the message delivered makes the readers ponder on the depth of the authors points. One example is the supposedly elitist upbringing of Sai, but in reality, she lives in poverty. She has never mastered her native tongue, as it is assumed by her grandfather, Patel to devalue her person. She projects the image of being a part of a rather genteel class, but at the end of the day, she literally sleeps under a table cloth!   Such a pity for a young lady to be surrounded by such manly mess! Another is the status of having a hired cook, but in truth, makes this employee live on meager wages and in a battered hut in the periphery of his masters house. Patel has lived a wretched family life filled with broken relationships inflicting cruelty to his wife, indirectly causing her death, and abandoning his daughter in a convent boarding school and then cutting her off when she marries a Parsi. He has likewise estranged himself from his parents, extended family and all the Patels when they gladly sent him off to Cambridge University, pinning their hopes on him for a better future. In England, he realized how inferior he and his compatriots were to the whites, and wanted desperately to be identified as one. He would put powder on his too brown skin to somehow attain a fairer complexion. As his Indian classmates celebrated their cultural roots, and fought for independence, Patel remained in awe of the English and abandoned his inferior race. Patel has chosen to live in Kalimpong not only because of its temperate climate but also to distance himself from the more tropical, mainstream India. He emulates the British who built cottages at the hill stations and give vent to their gardening skills. They also needed to be near bakeries that produced the cakes, breads and biscuits they need at tea time. Two elderly Indian ladies, very much like Patel in terms of their obsession with the English culture, take Sai under their wings to groom her to be a proper English lady. Lola, a widow, and her sister, Noni, live in a cottage they call Mon Ami, set apart by its own unique broccoli patch. They live like Englishwomen, listening to BBC on the radio at night, drinking cherry brandy. They read British novels from the nineteenth century, and not those of a younger breed, because they would like to keep their perception of England static. They avoid books written by Indian writers. Lola hoards English products every time she visits England every two years. She stocks up on Knorr packet soups, Oxo stock cubes and underwear from Marks and Spencer. She was ecstatic when her daughter, Pixie, officially became the wife of an Englishman. The sisters are conscious of their class perceive themselves as superior to their Anglophile neighbor Mrs. Sen, and affiliated with Father Booty of the Swiss dairy, which makes real cheese and not the processed ones eaten by most Indians. Young Sai, who is orphaned when her parents were killed in an accident in the Soviet Union, came to live with her grandfather when she was nine. His grandfather never knew she existed, as he banished his mother from his home when she married a man he did not approve of. Sai is very westernized and her grandfather tolerates it. She speaks broken Hindi, as she has been exposed to a fabricated English culture, brainwashed by the people around her that it is a far better one than the Indian roots she has sprung forth from. Sai is an avid reader. She immerses herself in literature that brings her to many worlds she has only journeyed in her rich imagination. She reads To Kill a Mockingbird, Cider with Rosie, Life with Father, and National Geographic. Desai says of her, She was inside the narrative and the narrative inside her, the pages going by so fast, her heart in her chest, she couldnt stop. Sai falls in love with her Nepalese Math and Science tutor, Gyan, a college student who was mutually attracted to her. Globalization, fundamentalism and sectarian and terrorist violence unravel Sais passion for Gyan. Her adolescent passion is intertwined with a sense of danger and tinged with both wonder and darkness. Unknown to both, their romance will greatly be affected by their differences in worldviews concerning their heritage. Another important character in the book is Biju, Sais friend and their cooks son. Biju, on the persistent machinations of his father, illegally entered the United States and does menial jobs in New York restaurants. Biju lives like a fugitive, fearing the INS to discover and deport him back to India. The book illustrates the sorry state of foreign immigrants who had flocked to the land of milk and honey seeking better lives than what they had in their own homelands. They accept the sufferings and abuse of their white superiors than facing the shame of going back home. All they need is to secure the elusive green card to ensure their prolonged stay in America. One can just imagine the stressed lives of these foreigners, exiled from their own countries and treated as low-lives. They desperately hold on to their idealistic perception of America, however stripped of their dignity and pride. Back home, they would have been treated more humanely, despite their poverty and sense of hopelessness. Instead of conquering another world outside the sphere of the familiar, they are enslaved by the whims and discriminatory treatment of the natives. This book eventually gives an unflattering view of the First World in the eyes of the inhabitants of the Third World. Biju encounters other Indians and gets surprised at how they totally adapt to the American culture. He is shocked to see Hindu Indians eating beef. He took on a sneering look. But they could afford not to notice.    It is this numbing hypocrisy that disillusions the underdogs like Biju those who completely turn away from their roots and fully embrace the culture of another, to the point of forsaking the long-held sanctity of their value systems. Bijus unfortunate life in America brings him to work for co-Indians who take advantage the illegal aliens desperation. These Indian restaurant owners cut the pay to a quarter of the minimum wage, reclaim the tips, keep an eye on the workers and drive them to work fifteen-,sixteen-, seventeen-hour donkey days.    It is pitiful to realize that illegals are treated like dirt, devoid of rights, and made to suffer for their sin of being in a place they should not be for want of a better life. This irony resounds through and through in Desais book. Desais vivid narratives bring to readers crisp images the effective contrast between rustic, lush Kalimpong in its natural glory and the ultra-sophistication of fast-paced New York -along with it, the description of the lives of the inhabitants of both settings. When Biju calls home from New York City, the reader can smell the humid air over the telephone line, and can picture the green-black lushness, the plumage of banana, the stark spear of the cactus, the delicate gestures of ferns; he could hear the croak trrrr whonk, wee wee butt ock butt ock of frogs in the spinach, the rising note welding imperceptibly with the evening. One can feel the emotions running through the characters, and it is palpable how one pines for anothers life. It also shows stark contrasts between two worlds that the readers have the luxury of shuttling to. Back in Kalimpong, the budding romance of Sai and Gyan is disrupted by Nepalese insurgency of which Gyan was a part of. The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) agitates for rights and justice for the majority Nepalese. Pushed by his loyalty to his culture, Gyan tips off GNLF guerillas about Sais grandfather, and they raid Patels estate, robbing him of his guns, properties and food supply. The rebels shake up the otherwise peaceful existence of the main characters. They feel as if they were living out action movies, being unleashed Bruce Lee fans. The intimidating strike lasted for days, with electricity and water cut off and roads blocked by the government to prevent food from coming into the area. Lola and Noni were left with no choice but to shelter the followers of the GNLF who in turn, take advantage of their kindness, as they ravage their carefully accumulated stock of cold meat and sausages, and squatting on their large, beautiful, bountiful garden. Pradhan, their leader, pirate-looking in his outfit, insults Lola when she complains to him about his people. His degratory remarks of implying Lola to be one of his many wives, as he distastefully run his malicious eyes on her adds insult to injury, as Lola is further spiraled downwards in her humiliation. Such an attack on their person and status brings them down to reality that indeed, they are Indians, no matter how estranged and foreign they wish to be. The envy of the Nepalese rebels drastically shatter their illusions of grandeur and the pathetic circumstance evens them all out as mere people instead of demi-gods. The story gets grimmer as Patels beloved dog, Mutt gets stolen, pushing his owner into depths of despair. A bloody encounter in the insurgency situation kills some people. Sai and Gyans love affair becomes reduced to recriminations, highlighted by Gyans spiel, Whats fair? Do you have any idea of the world? Do you bother to look? Do you have any understanding of how justice operates or, rather, does NOT operate?   Such verbalization from the youth wakes one up to realize that the world is not to be seen with rose-colored lenses. Sai learns that class envy and jealousy always overpower love. It is a totally human reaction. Upon hearing the unrest in his homeland, Biju comes home in the knowledge that his father needs him. Biju undergoes an illuminating transformation. His emotional connection to his father and the significant people in his life inspire him to appreciate his roots and enliven his loyalty to India. Enough is enough!   He has suffered enough in a foreign land, enslaved by whites, and worse, compatriots, who treat him so very badly. His spirit and pride beaten up, he ironically comes home as a whole person. He had shed the unbearable arrogance and shame of the immigrant. . . For the first time in God knows how long, his vision unblurred and he found he could see clearly.    He realizes that he can choose the kind of inheritance he can get in terms of keeping close to his roots, literally and figuratively. The same realizations were stumbled upon by the other characters in the story, knowingly or not. The wealth and gentility prided by sisters Lola and Noni and retired judge, Patel were the very things that exposed them, making them targets of rebels. Having been humble, low-key, and basically, being just themselves instead of desperately putting on the identity of a foreigner could have spared them form the unfortunate circumstance they got themselves into. All of a sudden, all that they had claimed innocent, fun, funny, not really to matter was proven wrong. It did matter, buying tinned ham roll in a rice and dal country; it did matter to live in a big house and sit beside a heater in the evening, even one that sparked and shocked; it did matter to fly to London and to return with chocolates filled with kirsch; it did matter that others could not. . . The wealth that seemed to protect them like a blanket was the very thing that left them exposed. They, amid extreme poverty, were bald ly richer, and the statistics of difference were being broadcast . . .they would pay the debt that should be shared with others over many generations. The book is effective in evoking painfully shelved emotions to come to surface. Everyone, at one time or another feels the pain of loss. As mentioned earlier, title itself makes one ponder if it can be inherited and passed down from one generation to the next as what was attempted by Patel to his granddaughter, Sai. The feeling of losing out on something merely by being born inferior was expertly shown in the book to be all-consuming to the characters. The inheritance of loss may have well been an inheritance of the mentality that colonizers of ages past were mightily superior. They, from the first world, are the first exposed to the boon of modernization, leaving the colonized to covet such sophistication. Attention is too focused on their adventures with the evolution of their culture, while native culture, with all its richness and beauty is ignored and concealed with shame. If only they can revisit it with fresh perspective, they would know that they possess wealth and class, not necessarily translated to monetary and material possessions, but more profoundly, a great contribution of culture, ideology and tradition. The Indian concept of Karma could have caught up with the hypocrites as a more passionate ethnic class shakes them up from their illusions. They are pulled down to the reality that ones wealth and pride is anothers poverty. It is a reality that living decently is difficult amidst all the injustices that exist around us. However, the fulfillment of being empowered to be ones own true self gives a liberating feeling and confidence to exist authentically. The reader is tempted to coach the characters into doing so, just so they can foresee a happy ending to their pathetic existence. It is no secret that one needs to hide behind some untruths to survive some delicate situations. However, being enmeshed with lies may have a debilitating effect on ones psyche. The illegal foreigners living like scurrying mice at the threat of being caught proves to be an example of such. How dreadful it is to continue living that way!   It is as if it is difficult to exhale, as one might fall into the trap of revealing his truths. Again, Desai plays with the readers mind when this happens the paradox of the truth not setting you free! and in fact, imprisoning you in the safety of lies!   However, this is a painful reality that needs to be accepted. Acknowledging ones origins helps an individual gain full understanding of oneself. It gives him a choice of either opening his arms to receive his inheritance of loss/ fulfillment or of politely declining and moving on with his chosen path. Kiran Desai may well be instrumental in poking at the consciences of inauthentic, hypocritical show-offs to shed their cloak of fabricated class and reveal their true selves. Painful though it may be, there is no substitute to honest living and upholding ones cultural values, which, in the first place, were customized in accordance with ones true roots.

The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Essay examples -- Essays Papers

The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Dr James Sheppard lived together with his sister Caroline in King's Abbot, a small village. He was a great doctor and when somebody died he looked to see what had happened. Mrs Ferras died on the night of the 16th - 17th September. Dr Sheppard drove there. After he had analysed the body he drove home again where he talked about the death of Mrs Ferras with his sister. Caroline pretended to know everything about the death. She thought Mrs Ferras had killed herself because she had killed her husband last year. That day Dr Sheppard met Roger Ackroyd, a good friend of his, by chance. Roger invited Dr Sheppard to his house at 7.30. He also told Dr Sheppard that it was very important. That evening Roger told James that Ralph Paton, his nephew, was in London. But James had seen Ralph this afternoon. When Roger heard that, he was very angry and pretended that he didn't know that. The next morning Caroline told him that she had seen Ralph Paton with Flora Ackroyd. They had been walking together. Dr Sheppard went into the garden. Minutes later pumpkins flew past his ears and a face looked over the fence. After the new man had excused himself he introduced himself. His name was Hercule Poirot, the new neighbour. When James walked into his house again Caroline told him that she had heard that Ralph Paton had said to a girl Mr Ackroyd had to die. Then James walked to Roger's house. When Dr Sheppard entered Ackroyd's house on this day he heard ...

Principles and Values of working with young children Essay

Principles 1. The welfare of the child is paramount. Within my role I have to support children and help them achieve their goals, from tying their shoe laces to providing skills to help young people to live in the community. I have to make sure all staff promotes a warm, caring, supportive, positive and tolerant atmosphere. This is to help work on raising the child’s self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth. I have to be very creative in my role at a moment’s notice, adapting to different situations. It is essential that I have excellent communication skills when interacting with children, teachers, parents, social workers, police etc. I must show empathy, and make sure i am aware at all times of confidentiality 2. Practitioners contribute to children’s care, learning and development and this is reflected in every aspect of practice and service provision. Organise residential activities, onsite and offsite (making sure the risk assessment in complete) Carry out domestic duties, and encourage children to be independent by guiding and showing children domestic duties i.e. making beds, tidying their room Ensure you guide children to ensure they have a regular hygienic routine At all times, make sure the children’s individual primary social emotional and physical needs are met Assist with the breakfast and evening meals supervision and process, making sure they have a balanced diet, and are aware of the importance of a balanced diet Support children’s social and life skills including personal hygiene, social behaviour and independence. Key worker for individual children – Assist in assessments of pupil needs and  maintain pupil care plans and records. Contribute to annual reports and reviews and any other relevant procedure. Meet with Key child on a weekly basis to carry out support sessions, this enables us to address specific issues the child may have Identify specific pieces of work to look at with key child i.e. self-esteem work anger management strategies Ensure essential information file is up to date Ensure key child’s views are fully recorded Health requirements are to be fully up to date with any changes in medication or time of taking dosage etc. Plan and agree individual targets with key child (reward charts) 3. Practitioners work with parents and families who are partners in the care, learning and development of their children and are the child’s first and most enduring educators Promote effective communication between the school, children and their carer’s and ensure that children and their careers are involved with or are aware of children’s targets, complaints and other procedures Create and maintain a positive line of communication with parents Attend meetings where appropriate Produce reports on incidents, concerns etc. and communicate effectively as necessary. I.e. Child in Need Meeting Complete a daily log for every shift detailing how the child has spent there day noting: positive behaviour, negative behaviour, health, hygiene, what activities they have taken part in and diet. Values 1. The needs, rights and views of the child are at the centre of all practice and provision. On admission, each child is schooled for a period of time in the class room. During this time an in depth assessment of academic ability, social skills and behaviour is carried out. This is using a ‘boxhall profile’ which includes behavioural, work and social needs will be programmed specifically to the child’s needs. A keyworker is assigned to an individual child, so we can spend time with the individual child and find  out their needs etc This can be just spending time with a child playing football, or an organised support session, where we take them out of the building, maybe for a hot chocolate. All information is recorded and passed on to the relevant people, if needed. 2. Individuality, difference and diversity are valued and celebrated. At our setting when a child starts at our setting, we have a ‘care plan’ that we go through (A copy has been sent for evidence). This includes the following: Young person background Family contact Equality, diversity, culture, religion, language and race Communication – how they like to communicate Health Identity, self-awareness and emotional well being Mealtimes Hygiene, including bedtime and waking up routine Behaviour – how they view their behaviour and how we can help them Activities – What they would like to try Independence – There goals and what they would like to achieve Transition Plan – How they would like to move on, and what they feel is best for them Each Keyworker is assigned to get to know that individual child, this could be by creating the care plan, support sessions and activities. Each child is encouraged to thrive in what they are interested in, and try new things. If a child celebrates a certain religion, then we would always accommodate them in their beliefs. This could be in a casual way, either over dinner: where they would help make a dinner of their choice, or an outing that would show us how they celebrate their religion. When a child celebrates a birthday, we organise a birthday cake of their choice, and they have a present which is presented to them with everybody present. 3. Equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice are actively promoted. We do not discriminate against staff or pupils on the grounds of their gender, disability, race, religion or belief, nationality, ethnicity or national origins, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or  maternity. This is in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty from the Equality Act 2010 and covers both direct and indirect discrimination. We promote the principles of fairness and justice for all through the education that we provide in our setting.  Through positive educational experiences and support for each individual’s point of view, we aim to promote positive social attitudes and respect for all. Our school aim is to tackle discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good relations across all aspects of school life. We do this by: Creating an ethos in which pupils and staff feel valued and secure; Building self-esteem and confidence in our pupils, so that they can then use these qualities to influence their own relationships with others; Having consistent expectations of pupils and their learning; Removing or minimizing barriers to learning, so that all pupils can achieve; Actively tackling discrimination and promoting racial equality Regular consultation with parents/carers and members of the local community, so that they are well informed of our policy and procedures; Making clear to our pupils what constitutes aggressive and prejudiced behaviour; Identifying clear procedures for dealing quickly with incidents of prejudiced behaviour; Making pupils and staff confident to challenge prejudiced and aggressive behaviour We do not tolerate any forms of discriminatory behaviour including direct or indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation. Should an incident occur, we will act immediately to prevent any repetition of the incident and do all we can to support that person in overcoming any difficulties they may have. Incidents are logged on our online ‘sleuth’ system. Incidents could take the form of physical assault, verbal abuse, and damage to a pupil’s property. Any adult witnessing an incident or being informed about an incident must follow these agreed procedures: Stop the incident and comfort the pupil who is the victim Reprimand the aggressor and inform the victim what action has been taken If  the incident is witnessed by other pupils, tell them why it is wrong Report the incident to the headteacher or a member of SMT and inform him/her of the action taken. This should be logged on sleuth, and parents contacted Inform the class teacher and Head of Care, of both the victim and the aggressor 4. Children’s health and well-being are actively promoted. Children’s physical and emotional and social development needs are promoted. This is via our ‘care plan’ and organised support sessions. Children are constantly advised how to understand their health needs, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to be independent, and look after their bodies. Children are encouraged to participate in a range of positive activities that contribute to their physical and emotional health. If a child is unwell, then they would generally go back home to their parents or carer, but if they can’t then we access the local doctors and other health professionals. Children’s health is promoted in accordance with their care plan and staff are clear about what responsibilities and decisions are delegated to them. If a child needs consent for medical treatment, this is issued before the child starts at our setting. Children’s wishes and feelings are sought and taken into account in their care plan. Care staff always receives sufficient training on health and hygiene issues and first aid with particular emphasis on health promotion and communicable diseases. Staffs receive guidance and training to provide appropriate care if looking after children with complex health needs. Our setting has good links with health agencies, including specialist services where appropriate, such as CAMHS and sexual health services. The availability of such services is taken into account when deciding on admissions. 5. Children’s personal and physical safety is safeguarded, whilst allowing for risk and challenge as appropriate While allowing for risk and challenge to the capabilities of the child. It is essential that we protect children from serious harm and injury. However, children must also learn to be independent and should be allowed to explore their environment according to  their age and ability. Within our setting it is everybody’s responsibility to keep the children safe, and the welfare of the child is paramount. We provide a safe environment that allows appropriate risks and challenges i.e., climbing frames. We allow children to take safe risks but always supervised. We always carry out a risk assessment and always follow health and safety rules. 6. Self-esteem, resilience and a positive self-image are recognised as essential to every child’s development. Self-esteem and positive self-image is recognised as an essential part to every child’s development. A child’s self-image is their view of who they are and what they are like. Within my den sessions we work on self-image and do a body map of themselves and we discuss how they feel when they are angry, sad, happy etc. We discuss the different feelings, and work on areas that are concerning them. It is essential to every child’s development that they have high self-esteem and a positive self-image. If they do, they are more resilient and are able to cope well with difficulties in life. Within our setting we always praise children’s efforts and achievements, and show them that they are valued, 7. Confidentiality and agreements about confidential information are respected as appropriate unless a child’s protection and well-being are at stake. Confidentiality and agreements are respected as appropriate unless a child’s protection and well-being are at stake. All staff has a responsibility to maintain confidentiality at all times. Maintaining confidentiality means that any information given to us should only be passed on in the interest of meeting the needs of the child, according to the policies of the setting. The sharing of information among practitioners working with children and families is essential. It is only when information is put together that a child can be seen to be in need or at risk of harm – The Children’s Act are the laws that aim to protect children from harm in any setting. This legislation is based on the principle that all children have the right to be protected. These are written procedures that aim to protect children in all settings. Confidentiality is also governed by the Data protection Act, which states â€Å"The storage, retrieval  and handling of confidential information verbally, written and electronically to protect the rights of the client. It identifies guidelines and practice and when certain information can be passed on; it serves to protect the child from harm. Within our setting all personal files are locked away and access is restricted to relevant people with the permission of parents, unless there are concerns about the child. 8. Professional knowledge, skills and values are shared appropriately in order to enrich the experience of children more widely. Professional knowledge skills and values are shared. Professional knowledge, skills and values are shared between professionals to enhance the experience of children more widely. Working within a team helps us to share profession knowledge, skills and values. This benefits the children and helps us to give the care the child needs. Within our work setting, we have daily handovers, so we completely understand how the last shift went. We have ‘care meetings’ at least once a month. This enables all staff to share relevant information, ideas and suggestions and plans for the month ahead. It also gives us all the opportunity to take suggestions from each other about their experiences of how they have handled certain situations; taken in a positive way, in can improve our own practice. 9. Best practice requires reflection and a continuous search for improvement. As a professional worker you must take responsibility for your own development and performance. Other practitioners can help and guide you towards best practice, but you will only make good professional progress if you become aware of your strengths and weaknesses. You must want to improve your skills and take responsibility for this. You should try to think about, or reflect on what you do, however, we all find it difficult at times to know how good or bad we are at something and to know our strengths and weaknesses. Most people need the help and feedback of others to do this. The most useful feedback will usually come from a Senior, Head of Care or an experienced worker. You should try to listen to others. Think about what they say to you and be open to suggestions about how you can change and improve how you work. During work appraisals is a good time to identify what your professional improvement needs are and to identify available training  that may be needed.

An Exit Strategy From Poverty: Sustainable Comprehensive Humanitarian Assistance and Planning in the developing and under-developed world

Humanitarian aid to the developing and under-developed world has been a hotly debated issue around the globe for decades, with the focus being on how these poor nations can be given aid and if the aid is only creating more barriers than it is breaking them down. The prevalent belief now is that previous models of humanitarian aid have been band-aid fixes for an enduring, wide-scale problem. There appears to be a sea change occurring with humanitarian aid, however, spurred by economic and social reforms to previous aid models. This change, examined at the most simple level is influenced by the proverb â€Å"give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. † An organization at the head of the tide of this sea change is Sustainable Comprehensive Humanitarian Assistance and Planning (SCHAP). SCHAP represents a movement away from aid from nation states and NGOs to more independent work by non-profit organizations – with a different economic sense than before. This new sense focuses aid not on the previous ‘head-above-water’ emergency temporary fixes, but rather on the development of the poor nations and their people, to get them out of the water altogether. It is the sustainable and comprehensive on which SCHAP endeavors itself, seeing it not just as part of the name of their organization, but as the name of a â€Å"new humanitarian ideology† (SCHAP 1) where assistance and planning are critical to the creation of a self empowering infrastructure based on the thinking and development of the suffering regions and communities (SCHAP 1). It is this focus on sustainability and providing aid in a comprehensive manner that SCHAP shares with the organizations it works with and takes inspiration from, like the revolutionary Grameen Bank. What SCHAP brings to poor nations is a unique aid perspective from a business-sense, where entrepreneurship and lending reforms are paramount. SCHAP’s vision is that this sea change will see developing and under-developed nations become truly profitable in not only an economic sense, but also socially, culturally and politically. SCHAP, in other words, does not wish to provide the fish, but rather to help create a nation of fishermen. 2. SCHAP’s HUMANITARIAN AID PLATFORM SCHAP is a non-profit organization working in poor nations, and their mission is two-pronged: to bring sustainable solutions to humans living with extreme disadvantages in an effort to empower them with tools, resources, information and vision requisite for development and an increased quality of life, while also teaching the correct principles of sustainable and comprehensive humanitarian work to aspiring philanthropists. SCHAP 1) SCHAP brings an approach that focuses on internal development rather than external fixes or influences. With access to developmental skills and tools and proper education, SCHAP states that change will come from the spread of principles, technology and information from within communities (1). SCHAP’s non-profit status means that it can devote the entirety of its resources and donations to the communit ies of poor nations. Founder and President Cory Glazier emphasizes that every dollar that goes to SCHAP goes into the cost of their projects, and that with a fully volunteer staff, they can grow unabated by the freedom from the need for funds (KPBS 1). An aspect of SCHAP that has garnered it not only success in its application in villages like Matoso, Kenya, but also global attention, is from its focus on planning that examines the issues at the heart of the communities and builds aid from those issues in a way that respects the local cultural and social integrity. Glazier maintains that by looking at the roots of an issue rather than just the implications of those issues (which includes speaking with people in the villages), a better understanding is gained as to how these people’s circumstances got to be the way they are and what must be done (SCHAP 1) to promote development to cross the poverty line. By better understanding the circumstances that led to and that propagate the conditions the people of poor nations face, SCHAP is uniquely equipped with the knowledge to create a plan that implements a comprehensive multi-dimensional platform to create permanent solutions. Paul Polak sees this sort of planning as being â€Å"routine for large businesses or for any entrepreneur seeking to start-up venture capital, but it is rare for development organizations† (18). Polak’s wealth of experience with humanitarian aid has given him an exclusive perspective on what is needed in order to end poverty in the poor nations, and he sees learning from a real-life context from those who are suffering and not ignoring the obvious as leading to creation of world-changing ideas (18). SCHAP’s focus on the internal development rather than the external addresses what Jeffrey Sachs sees as the influence of the developed world and how the poor nations must break the barriers that have beset them as well as the barriers that foreign aid has unwittingly erected. Sach’s identification that â€Å"a country’s fate is crucially determined by its specific linkages to the rest of the world† (128) is one that SCHAP recognizes and looks to fix with promoting the internal development of communities to unwrap themselves from the more burdensome linkages, such as crippling terms of debt or the inability to gain credit. Sach carries forward on his premise of the effect of specific linkages with the rest of the world, suggesting two remedies that SCHAP champions, which are the concept of economic transformation of a broad-based sense and the possibilities of a practical nature that arise from conceptual thinking on a large-scale (128). The true promising potential of SCHAP is seen in how its fundamentals mirror what a United States Institute of Peace symposium in October 1995 outlined as to what was needed to create a more positive impact by NGOs on foreign aid, which were improved planning, more accurate assessment of needs, providing aid with the longest term benefit to specifically targeted groups and empowering local institutions (Smock 1). With SCHAP focusing on sustainable and comprehensive planning, it is operating within a new framework that is given a freedom as a result from working independently of governments and International bodies that have been heavily involved in foreign aid that has largely been ineffectual. Operating in this manner, SCHAP is not guilty of what David Smock admonishes NGOs for, which is functioning merely as agents for the implementation of foreign aid from governments and the United Nations (2). The most unique aspect of SCHAP is its local approach regarding aid. By focusing on a community, not only is the task less daunting for a smaller organization such as SCHAP, but it also plays to the organization’s strength of knowing the root of local issues. This knowledge entails a respect for the social and cultural identity of these communities and the importance that the sphere of a community is to the larger cultural and social national identity. It is tribalism mixed with 21st century economics, and it is this ‘best of both worlds’ framework which SCHAP is hoping to use to bring the people of poor nations out of poverty – for good. To evaluate the work that SCHAP is doing, its potential for long term developmental benefits and the support it has from other institutions that assist it or provide a parallel framework, three key areas that SCHAP is focused on should be examined. Firstly is SCHAP’s focus on providing the people of poor nations with an exit strategy from poverty by a business-oriented tilt towards entrepreneurship and the formation of a solid financial foundation from micro-credit. Another key area of concern for SCHAP is attention towards education, which will not only raise the quality of life for the people in the communities, but a focus on the development of children will lead to long-lasting benefits that will carry on for generations. Lastly, SCHAP is obviously promoting improvements in the health of the people of poor nations with such necessities as clean water and access to and knowledge of better nutrition. These three key areas of concern are part of the building blocks of the comprehensive vision that SCHAP holds of bringing an end to poverty for the people of poor nations – on their terms. . Providing an Exit Strategy from Poverty Foreign aid has largely been stopgap measures in emergency situations, with money and manpower being poured into poor areas to provide food and resources without addressing the causes of the problems that plague poor nations. This aid has managed to staunch some of the bleeding that poverty steadily provides, but it is only by giving the poor nations an independence from foreign aid and providing the tools and knowledge needed to ascend beyond poverty that these nations and, more importantly, their people will prosper. What SCHAP endeavors to provide the people of communities like Matoso, Kenya is an exit strategy from poverty that focuses on providing the means for not only self-sustainment but also profit. It is from Glazier that SCHAP’s unique foundation is formed, as he has a background business, which he uses to his advantage and to the advantage of his organization and the people they help escape poverty. To use Matoso as a case study, Glazier and SCHAP put together what he calls a â€Å"business plan for the village† (KPBS 1), which focuses on what is needed to increase the quality of life for the village as a whole and for families and individuals that live within it by promoting their own development. Glazier sees the inherent barriers that a cashless community faces in trying to interact with a cash community (1), such as a financial institution or a financially supportive NGO or nation state. SCHAP’s business plan is to break those barriers. SCHAP’s exit strategy from poverty for the people of poor nations involves teaching the principles of entrepreneurship, how to optimize businesses and the benefits of microcredit (SCHAP 1). The passing of this knowledge is intended to create sustainable rural development promoted by the entrepreneurship of local members of the community, which would create a market environment within the community (SCHAP 1). SCHAP recognizes that the potential of local entrepreneurs by to be business leaders and wishes to empower them with training and assistance to reach this potential. Implementation of this strategy includes business development workshops in the communities, teaching those in the communities to develop business plans and how to qualify for microcredit and to train and hire members of the community to serve as business development leaders to carry on the initiatives set out by SCHAP (SHAP 1). Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Prize winner for creating the ‘grandfather’ institution of micro-credit, the Grameen Bank, acknowledges the capabilities of the people of poor nations to be successful entrepreneurs and that the support of organizations with the objectives of SCHAP can create stepping stones out of poverty. Yunus sees entrepreneurship as a universal ability that allows people to choose to work for themselves rather than waiting for jobs to be created for them (54). Yunus likens the business development by local entrepreneurs to the growth of healthy bonsai trees, as the seed of a tall tree planted in a shallow pot will grow to resemble a tall tree but will be stunted; the seed is fine, but the soil needs to be adequate to promote proper growth (54). The ‘seed’ that foreign aid has provided in the past was well intended but the framework was inadequate to create real change to the situation of poverty. The business-driven initiatives of SCHAP look to create deep, fertile soil to promote the ascension beyond poverty. Another aspect of SCHAP’s exit strategy from poverty involves the access to microcredit in order to bring the impoverished into the financial sphere. Not only will microcredit allow for entrepreneurial growth, but it will also promote financial stability for future inevitabilities of families well beyond business. By providing microcredit and supportive training to qualified members of the communities, sustainable financial situations can be created and maintained. SCHAP looks to achieve this not only with access to microcredit, but by also working with the local entrepreneurs with developing a business plan and to achieve the qualifications for credit (SCHAP 1). This is a long-term initiative that looks to empowering the people of poor nations and breaking down the barriers that traditional financial institutions have erected by marginalizing – and even entirely dismissing – the people of poor nations. Breaking these barriers is what motivated Yunus to create the Grameen Bank to serve as a financial institution to the poor. Yunus’ evaluation of the treatment of the people of poor nations led him to the realization that banks considered the poor as unworthy of credit and as a result, the poor were prevented from entering into – and profiting from – the financial system, and from this broken system Yunus sought to create a financial institution that would worthy of the people (49). In the traditional financial system, the people of the poor nations are non-entities. Traditional financial institutions are concerned with making money, and providing funds to risky ventures is not in those banks best interests. Without credit, the poor cannot create a foundation to develop a long-term self-sustaining life and save money. The conditions that have created and perpetuated poverty in developing and under-developed nations are not the only obstacle that the poor must overcome in order to escape poverty. The barriers created by the traditional financial institutions hold back the development that the poor are capable of achieving given they are allowed access to what the rest of the world has had for decades. Turning up a nose to the people of poor nations’ need for credit is a hypocritical stance that ignores the realities of the markets in the Western World. Credit is arguably how the middle class in the West survives, and when that bubble bursts, the effects show how pervasive credit is in the economy of these countries. Look no further than the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States and the resulting economic instability for an example of the vast need for credit inherent in the developed world. To deny the developing and under-developed world credit is to deny their potential and their rights. Yunus created the Grameen Bank to allow access to credit for the poor to generate self-employment and income for them (Yunus 54). The Grameen Bank operates under Yunus’ principles of microcredit, which does enforce on the poor the rules and laws of traditional banks, but rather recognizes them upon their own worth (49). Microcredit provides microloans – small loans with small interest rates – to those without collateral or previous credit. Microcredit, and the other facets of microfinance promote entrepreneurship and the ability to develop the stability needed for long-term sustainability above the poverty line. The Grameen Bank’s use of microcredit and its unique lending terms allow for the challenging of what Yunus calls the â€Å"financial apartheid† (51), as traditional lending terms, especially interest rates, are entirely unreasonable for the people of poor nations. While the average person in the Western World is around 20 to 25 per cent, poor people, who are ‘graciously allowed’ to be burdened by traditional banks with payday loans, are facing annual interest rates around 250 per cent (51). Yunus faced widespread criticism from those appalled at his disregard for the low-risk activity of traditional financial institutions and willingness to apparently throw money away without any chance of seeing any sort of return. Yunus was literally banking on the potential he saw in the people of poor nations, and his work not only yielded financial returns, but also allowed for the economic development of poor communities. The success of the Grameen Bank and its microcredit platform is seen in the over 2500 branches that currently provide loans to over seven million poor, totaling six Billion Dollars (51) since the Banks’ inception in 1983. The repayment rate on those loans stands at 98. 6 per cent – a blow to critics of microcredit and the Grameen Bank – and most importantly, 64 per cent of borrowers that have been involved with the Bank for five or more years have risen above the poverty line (52). SCHAP utilizes microcredit to promote development in communities because it allows for flexibility and growth that is within the reach of poor entrepreneurs. A study by Daryl Collins et al. howed that when given access to loans, the poor members of communities acted in a responsible manner that promoted sustainability, with savings being contributed to the bank weekly, and withdrawals being made only between two or three times in a financial quarter (161). The study also found that ease of use brought about increased development, as the introduction of the passbook savings account saw a dramatic rise in savings made by the poor members of the communities (162). The efficacy of the Grameen Bank and microcredit, then, can be seen in the quantitative evidence, but the true human impact can be seen on the quality of life of those borrowers. In these communities, the priority of families if of course the children, to not only provide them with the essentials for a healthy, productive life, but also to be given the tools and skills to continue the entrepreneurial activities. The Grameen Pension Savings (GPS) is a facet of the microcredit initiatives that greatly benefit children with the long-term stability of saving profits. The GPS offers a low interest rate to borrowers in exchange for the promise of a regular savings of at least one dollar per month for the term of the loan, which is either five or 10 years. The plan is not restricted to retirement resources, as it promotes the saving of funds for the social, cultural and familial inevitabilities, such as children’s schooling and weddings (168). While the structure of the GPS promotes savings discipline, it also is freeing in terms of its end-of-term options, as at the end of a GPS term, savings can be transferred into a deposit account at the bank and a new GPS can be started (168). Programs such as the GPS promote the sort of sustainable development that SCHAP is initiating in these communities, which will allow for the people to pick themselves up out of the hole of poverty and propagate the economic, social and cultural integrity of the community, the region and the nation at large. The Asia-Pacific Review highlighted the advantages of microcredit to organizations such as SCHAP and their initiatives: micro-credit is a dream come true for donors and non-governmental organizations†¦loans are invested in pre-existing survival skills, enabling the poorest to be magically transformed into entrepreneurs. That way, micro-credit’s supporters claim, lending to the poor shows that capitalism can benefit all, not just the rich. (xii) It is not magic that will transform the people of these communities into entrepreneurs, but the hard work of organizations like SCHAP and, more importantly, the hard work and dedication of the local members of the communities. One aspect of entrepreneurialism that SCHAP is channeling that hard work and resources into is the ensuring of ongoing regional economic development through a focus on agriculture (SCHAP 1). Polak has studied such agricultural reform with great attention, and has found that foreign aid to poor communities has provided only enough knowledge of farming to barely keep their heads above water. His experience in these communities found that the focus of agriculture was on the products and means of producing such that provided only enough to eat, but not near enough to reach a surplus on which money could be made on the market. Polak found that the difficulties of such practices come from two sources: an ingrained traditional in the culture of these communities and the propagation of such practices by government agricultural aid agents that applied Western knowledge of crop production for sustenance (84). Polak saw the potential for the economic benefits and an increase in quality of life in agricultural reforms, specifically in small-acreage farms. This potential arose from the ideals of the Green Revolution, for which its creator Norman Borlaug received a Nobel Prize. The Green Revolution refers to the sustainable change in food production, with a focus on small-acreage farmers, which would create an increase in food supply, new jobs and reasonable income from the selling of surplus food products (85). What agricultural reforms like the Green Revolution provide for small-acreage subsistence farmers is the opportunity to not to just live hand-to-mouth and remain reliant upon foreign aid donations, but to operate in a profitable manner that will allow them to be active members of the marketplace and to have the ability to purchase the food and resources they need. This is the sustainability that SCHAP endeavors to help provide, hence their attention to agriculture as a means for entrepreneurial success. The means for this success suggested by Polak concerning agricultural reform are teaching small-acreage farmers green revolution strategies, including using high yield varieties of crops already being produced, the use of fertilizers and proper irrigation to increase the yield of their food crops to enter the marketplace (84). SCHAP has used a business plan approach to agriculture to create cash flow in the village of Matoso. They took a plot of land and created – with the help of those in the community – a large garden. This garden served to not only get the economic ball rolling in the community to combat poverty, but also served as an example for the local members of the community as to how to develop a marketplace to benefit them by creating capital. In order to gain access to such healthcare products such as malaria medication or contraceptives, members of the communities could work in the garden and farm area in exchange for the medications, which SCHAP would provide. They did this, not to undermine the economy of the community, but to promote the knowledge and skills of producing time, effort and product into money (KPBS 1). By promoting entrepreneurship in this manner, SCHAP created a cycle of cash flow by purchasing medications and providing those medications to the community and then selling back the produce from the garden and farm area, (KPBS 1) in hopes of overcoming the stagnation of poverty with a new engine of commerce. This promotion of commerce with agriculture is not only an access point for local members of the community to qualify for microcredit, but also the creation of a sustainable way of life that promotes the growth beyond poverty. Lisa Avery points out that microcredit has gained recognition on the world stage as an effective mechanism for the empowerment of the people of poor nations in an economic and social sense (224), but her work also shows the importance of SCHAP’s comprehensive focus on battling poverty. The need for effective aid is to be multi-dimensional, and Avery recognizes this factor in the relationship between entrepreneurial pursuits and the support of microcredit and education and health, as she discovered that the children of borrowers from microcredit institutions like the Grameen Bank had much higher rates of enrollment in schools and that their medical needs were more likely to be met (209). 4. SCHAP’s Focus on Education. SCHAP’s comprehensive focus is supported by the Asia & Pacific Review, whose study findings led them to suggest that unless microcredit is couple with sufficient support in other areas, the poor borrowers, especially women, will find their capacity to generate income in decline (xii). A focus of SCHAP in addition to entrepreneurship is education, which speaks as much to sustainable development within these communities just as much as economic activity. SCHAP operates with heavy attention on primary education by introducing school buildings and the tools and skills to provide the educational framework within them. Yunus exemplifies the authoritative voice of support for SCHAP’s initiatives, arguing that â€Å"the first and foremost task of development is to turn on the engine of creativity inside each person† (56). Yunus also looks to the next generation of the members of these communities to be the focus of reducing or eliminating poverty, and maintains that any program directed towards children should be considered a prime development program, just as important, if not more so, than the development of infrastructure (55). In terms of the comprehensive approach to battling poverty, Yunus agrees this approach must be taken, as he argues that economic development must include the exploration of creative potential of the individual which, when enabled, will prove more important than any quantitative economic factor (56). This sense of education leading to economic growth not only shows the efficacy of the comprehensive approach of organizations like SCHAP, but also highlights the focus on the long-term sustainability of these communities and their people. By focusing attention and resources on children at a prime stage of development, the impressions made will last beyond their generation, as they will be passed on for many more to come. SCHAP’s primary education goals are to create schools and to create activities that foster learning and creative exploration for the children, as many of these communities have no formal primary educational programs and the education institutions that do exist are highly ineffective, which has resulted in high illiteracy rates and basic learning skills, especially in children under nine years of age (SCHAP 1). Construction of school buildings are repairs to existing structures is an example of a hands-on fix, while SCHAP looks to empower the community to provide education by providing training and jobs for local teachers as well as needed resources (1). Sustainability of these programs is addressed with the covering of overhead with small school fees, which are made possible by the economic reforms within these communities with entrepreneurship and access to marketplace due to agricultural reforms. The multitude of benefits from this focus on primary education is due in no small part to the role that poor education plays in the derailment of any long-term attempts at ending poverty in these communities. Lisa Avery found that children that do not receive schooling during their critical formative years will only serve to continue the cycle of the illiterate and uneducated in the communities, and that low levels of education contribute to the continuation of poverty, as a result of higher birth rates and those children competing in the families for resources already stretched too thin and they are left out of the workplace (212) due to lack of skills. The Academy for Education Development looks to primary education programs such as those of SCHAP as promoting the learning of skills and the articulation of ideas that promote the acquisition of knowledge and the means for development, but also in the acquisition of the processes and habits of reasoning that promote lifelong learning and the development of the community as a result of learning. An important aspect of SCHAP’s focus on education within the context of a community is that with local education there is also an instilling of cultural value systems. These value systems are just as important as the knowledge of the world around the students, as an understanding of where they come from and what it means to belong to that community, regional and national culture promotes the continuation of those cultural traditions and values to future generations. This is an empowering facet of the nature of these communities, not only to preserve the culture, but to also serve as a sense of independence from nations and cultures that they previously relied so heavily upon. In this way, every member of the community can be a teacher, and there is much to be learnt from them by the children. SCHAP recognizes this and involves parents and other elder members of communities within the educational programs to promote cultural learning. This is essential for not only the children, but also for the other members of the community to reinforce the cultural value and belief systems. The Academy for Education Development regards this activity as highly effective in doing so, recommending that for the success of such primary educational programs, parental involvement should be encouraged, not just as guests or family members but as contributing members of the community (23). Having parents and members of the community involved in primary school programs as SCHAP does promotes linkage between school and the community and home, where what is learned from each sphere can be transferred and shared between members. While the positive aspects of learning within a community are emphasized by SCHAP, so to are initiatives to overcome the aspects of the community that may impede learning. One such initiative is the creation of a â€Å"micro library† consisting of a collection of approximately 1,000 books on a wide variety of topics, along with providing assistance for studying the materials (SCHAP 1). What SCHAP is trying to do with these libraries is not just to provide another centre for learning, but also to combat the â€Å"closed system of information† (1) that communities become. Making new knowledge, skills and resources available to the community promotes an increase in development (1) in the economic, social, cultural and political spheres of the local region. Education works in tandem with business development to create a foundation from which to rise above poverty, but another issue that must be addressed before work can be done or learning is to be made, and that is the health of those in the communities. . SCHAP’s Focus on Health Health is obviously an important issue in the lives of people in poor nations and foreign aid’s attempt at solving. Unfortunately a large amount of funds and manpower has been put into emergency situations regarding health, but very little has been done to address the roots of health issues that are simplistic and relativ ely cheap in comparison to wide-spread relief efforts of the past. A health focus that comes from SCHAP’s knowledge of the fundamental roots of issues in these communities involves the access to clean water. The conditions of water in developing and under-developed nations is dangerously poor due to contamination from agricultural run-off, ineffective or non-existent waste management and illness-causing pathogens. By creating a clean water system in these communities, SCHAP is producing a permanent fix to the root health issue by providing a â€Å"sustainable, maintainable, expandable and replicable† (1) resource. One initiative to achieve this system is with the building and installation of a water filtration system that is simplistic and requires low maintenance, so that the members of the community can maintain existing systems and build and install more elsewhere. An IDRC study by Blanca Jimenez et al. recommends such simple filtration systems for communities such as these, with filtration removing dangerous particulate matter and illness-causing pathogens from the water (3). The IDRC also sees the benefit of access and propagation of these basic systems, as they are infinitely more cost effective than wider-spread regional programs that require significant funds and resources, such as the installation of water treatment plants (3). Another health focus of SCHAP that not only addresses a fundamental issue of poor health of the impoverished but also illuminates how health is linked with education and work in creating an escape from poverty is nutrition. The plan for improved nutrition involves the education of the community, particularly children, as to what is necessary in terms of food to keep them healthy, but also an education as to what agricultural output is most nutritional (SCHAP 1). While medications can be costly and difficult to obtain because of limited supply, addressing a health concern such as nutrition gets to the origins of issues before they can multiply or become fatal. Many people in poor nations die from illnesses that would be easily preventable with basic education and forethought into such things as nutrition. Engle et al. has examined the linkage between nutrition and child development, finding that illnesses that come from poor nutrition, such as anemia, impede such development (230). The prevention of childhood development that malnutrition causes is caused by a disruption of neural circuitry that can lead to permanent difficulties with cognitive skills (230). Early intervention in the form of nutritional education and agricultural reform is shown to combat this development impediment. To use anemia as an example, it occurs because of an iron deficiency. SCHAP initiatives would include the promoting of the growth of iron rich plants, which the IDRC has found to have positive effects on the childhood development of motor-skills, emotional maturity and language and other social skills (Jimenez 2). The initiatives of SCHAP in this context once again present a comprehensive approach to combating poverty, by promoting a healthy lifestyle and the means to achieve it, which can be passed down for generations to come. . Conclusion While only touching on a few of SCHAP’s initiatives for communities in poor nations, what is made clear is that a reformed, comprehensive approach that focuses on sustainable long-term results has the great potential for creating an exit strategy from poverty for these nations and to untie these nations from the cumbersome umbilical cord of foreign aid. What SCHAP is doing by setting up programs and initiatives in these communities is not a hand out, but a helping hand. By giving the tools and the means to create their own resources to these communities, SCHAP is contributing to the fight against poverty in ways that are far-reaching and long lasting. The emphasis made by Cory Glazier on listening to the members of these communities shows a simplistic approach to revolutionary, life-changing ideas. It implies the communication with and involvement of the people of these communities who not only have a right to have say in foreign aid that is given to them, but who also have a responsibility to create the changes that will end poverty in their nations. While SCHAP has shown great potential and has made great improvements in villages such as Matoso, the reality is that there must be hundreds more organizations like SCHAP to join the battle. It is not a battle that these organizations, such as SCHAP or their supporting institutions such as the Grameen Bank, can win, but it is in arming the people of these poor nations that the battle can indeed be won.