· September, 2008

Stories about Youth from September, 2008

Myanmar: Aid still needed

  29 September 2008

Five months after the devastating cyclone which killed and displaced at least a hundred thousand people, Myanmar is slowly recovering. Relief efforts may be improving but international aid is still very much needed.

Morocco: Schools Closing

  28 September 2008

The View from Fez reports that the Moroccan government plans to shut down 60 Qur'anic schools around the country, all of which are associated with Sheikh Mohamed Ben Abderrahman Al-Maghraoui, who earlier this month decreed that the marriage of nine-year-old girls was permissible. His declaration is an affront to Morocco's...

Japan: Dropping out of Graduate School

  28 September 2008

At Hatena's AnonymousDiary, a former student of a Japanese graduate school describes their experience and why they decided to drop out [ja]. The student explains that in their lab, what mattered most was not experimental techniques or fundamental knowledge, but just the amount of time that students spent at their...

Jamaica: Child Missing

  27 September 2008

After an eleven year-old girl goes missing in Kingston, Abeng News Magazine examines the plight of Jamaica's children: “With no inclination to tackle the complexity of the issues involved and no plan in sight to deal squarely with the crime menace…the youth will remain at the top of the island's...

Sierra Leone: No money, no doctor

  27 September 2008

No money, no doctor, writes a Sierra Leone based blogger, Sandra: “Last week I saw a little boy who was moderately sick. He had lost weight, had many palpable lymph nodes and a chest infection. I decided to treat as outpatient with a strong antibiotic and see the child again...

Japan: Taiwanese blogger looking for Japanese boyfriend

  27 September 2008

According to Ameba news [ja], Taiwanese blogger and Japan-lover Shuen Shuen, also known as “Naomi”, announced on her blog [zh] that she wanted to move to Japan and find a Japanese guy to marry. That news is now all the talk of the Japanese bulletin boards [ja], and apparently sparked...

Ripples of the China Milk Scandal in Africa

  26 September 2008

In China, an estimated 13,000 children have fallen ill since the tainted milk scandal broke. Chinese influence has grown in Africa in recent years, as have imports of all kinds products, from running shoes to instant noodles. Bloggers as far afield as Congo and Senegal, concerned about the safety of Chinese products in their countries, are closely following the story.

Japan: Prosecutors want 1.5 years for bulletin board comment

  25 September 2008

2channel threads are commenting on news [ja] that prosecutors in Japan are asking for 1.5 years in the case of 23-year-old Atsushi Sugita's (杉田敦史) declaration on a bulletin board that he would “kill young girls”. Sugita said he did not intend to commit any crime and that in using the...

China: Infant Formula Scandal Highlights Decline in Breastfeeding

  24 September 2008

Health authorities in China reported this week that nearly 53,000 children have become sick after consuming tainted infant formula. As the effects of these contaminated dairy products become more widespread, many are discussing the alternative to formula — breastfeeding. The scandal erupted earlier this month when Sanlu, China's top-selling infant...

Japan: Manga teaches children danger of fast food

  24 September 2008

Japanese blogger and author Chiki Ogiue [荻上チキ] scans an educational manga book he stumbled on at an eco cafe [ja] that teaches children good dietary habits with incredibly frank visual messages and storylines, emphasizing the danger of fast food and the value of eating rice, among other things. Webpage of...

Deaf Awareness Week: Striving for Quality Education

  24 September 2008

On this second part of the Deaf Awareness Week posts (part one), we bring you a perspective on education for the deaf, and the different challenges it implies. First, from the Central African Republic, a school that after funds stopped, has continued fueled only by love. Second, from the Philippines,...