Security
Security is important for us all. When we talk security, we mean a few things – job security, food security, a safe place to sleep and freedom from interpersonal violence… All the things that make life secure.
Millions of people in our world don’t have the security of a job with fair pay and safe working conditions; Food that is nutritious, affordable, and safe; or a home or community that is free from threat.
Like all the I-HEART causes… it’s all connected. In most countries, if a person can’t find work or is unable to work, they aren’t likely to have the money needed for food either… You get the idea.
Every year, there are almost 9 million deaths of children under 5 due to poverty and malnutrition. That’s more than the entire population of Sweden. When other nutrition related risk factors are included, the annual death toll is equivalent to a disaster killing or disabling the entire population of a country larger than the USA.
While the International Labour Organization created international standards for everyone - protection, training, wage standards and safety standards - these standards have to be applied on a local level. That’s one of the reasons child labour still exists.
Violence can come from all directions; family, friends, acquaintances and strangers, some of the most vulnerable groups being women, elderly people, and children. Whether spurred on by alcohol, drugs or gang pressure or forced as in the case of child soldiers or racial inequality, no one should experience this threat.
And then there are those of us without a home. Our world’s current slum-dweller population is 1 billion. Homelessness looks different is every city and while many of us think of it as people just living on the streets or in shelters, we forget that homelessness means lacking many things, like food, water, clothing and employment. Refugees too, whether internally displaced or in a foreign land, refugees often lack housing, food, water, community support, medical care and hygiene facilities - experiencing unsafe travel, family separation and ongoing mental trauma.
So who will do something about all these issues? Someone has to bring the change that is needed in these situations, to bring security to our fragmented world.
